Sudden cardiac death in many cases announces its onset with telltale symptoms long before it strikes, according to findings from a prospective study in Germany.
Dirk Müller, Ph.D., and colleagues at Charité Medical University of Berlin, analyzed event and symptom data from 323 patients struck by presumed cardiac arrest over the course of 1 year who were treated by a Berlin helicopter ICU and for whom a resuscitation attempt was made and pre-event symptoms were available. Symptom data were collected on the scene by emergency physicians (Circulation. 2006;114[11]:1146–50).
Only 25% of patients had no symptoms before the onset of sudden cardiac death (SCD), and of the remaining 75%, symptoms lasted a median of 50 minutes. Angina pectoris preceded SCD in 22% of patients at a median duration of 120 minutes.
Dyspnea was evident in 15% and lasted a median of 30 minutes. Smaller percentages experienced nausea or vomiting (7%) or dizziness or syncope (5%). For 90% of patients, symptoms lasted more than 5 minutes, and for 64%, symptoms lasted more than an hour.