RESULTS
The annual incidence of sports-related sudden cardiac arrest in the elderly is rare: 2 to 3 cases per 100,000 people.
Of the 4,078 cases of sudden cardiac arrest studied in people aged 65 and over, 77 (1.9%) occurred during or after physical activity, such as biking, gymnastics, running, golfing or tennis. Most cardiac arrests occurred in men (91%).
Investigators also analyzed medical records, which were available for 47 people with sports-related cardiac arrest and 3,162 people with non-sports-related cardiac arrest. This analysis found that people who experienced sudden cardiac arrest during or shortly after exercise were more likely to have fewer cardiovascular risk factors and other health problems than people who did not experience sudden cardiac arrest. exercise-related sudden cardiac arrest.
People who suffered a sports-related cardiac arrest were also more likely to experience it in a public place, which contributed to being four times more likely to survive than those who suffered a non-sports-related cardiac arrest.
CONTEXT
Sudden cardiac arrest occurs when an electrical malfunction causes a person’s heart to stop beating. This is an extremely dangerous event, with most people dying within minutes. The good news is that in recent years the frequency of sudden cardiac arrests has decreased among people of working age. But for the elderly, rates of sudden cardiac arrest have increased.
Exercise is one of the healthiest habits for the heart. In rare cases, however, it can trigger an irregular heartbeat that leads to sudden cardiac arrest.
METHODS
Investigators analyzed sudden cardiac arrests that occurred in people aged 65 and older in Portland, Oregon, and Ventura County, California. To do this, they looked at data collected from two prospective studies: the Oregon Sudden Unexpected Death study, which has been ongoing since 2002, and the Ventura Prediction of Sudden Death in Multi-ethnic Communities study, which is ongoing since 2015. Data excludes people who suffered sudden cardiac arrest while hospitalized and people for whom resuscitation was not attempted.
People who died of sudden cardiac arrest during sports activity or within an hour of the activity were classified as having experienced sports-related sudden cardiac arrest.
IMPACT
The results reveal that although sports activity increases steadily in older people, sudden cardiac arrest triggered by sports activity is rare. Additionally, people who experience sudden cardiac arrest on exercise tend to have fewer comorbidities and cardiovascular risk factors than people who experience sudden cardiac arrest not triggered by exercise. Taken together, the benefits of athletic activity likely outweigh the associated risk of sudden cardiac arrest, the authors conclude.
“The annual incidence of sports-related sudden cardiac arrest in the elderly is extremely rare,” said Sumeet S. Chugh, MD, Pauline and Harold Price Chair in Cardiac Electrophysiology Research, director of the Heart Rhythm Center at Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai, and lead author of the study. “That means older people who play sports regularly should continue. Those who develop new symptoms should see their doctor. Those who want to start should be encouraged to do so, but only after consulting their doctor and obtaining an exercise prescription. »
AUTEURS
Other Cedars-Sinai authors include Lauri Holmstrom, MD, Harpriya S. Chugh, BS, Audrey Uy-Evanado, MD, Arayik Sargsyan, MD, MPH, Chad Sorenson, BS, Shiva Salmasi, MD, Faye L. Norby, PHD , MPH , and Kyndaron Reinier, PHD, MPH.
JOURNAL
The research has been published in the peer-reviewed journal JACC: Clinical Electrophysiology.
FUNDING
The research was supported by the National Institutes of Health (R01HL145675); National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (R01HL147358); the Sigrid Jusélius Foundation; the Finnish Cultural Foundation; the Instrumentarium Science Foundation; Orion Research Foundation; and the Paavo Nurmi Foundation.