News – LOS ANGELES (January 20, 2021) – New research from the Center for the Prevention of Cardiac Arrest at the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai has found for the first time that women are more likely than men to suffer through men overnight die suddenly as a result of a heart attack. The results were published yesterday in the journal Heart rhythm.
“Sudden death in the wee hours of the night is a terrible surprise,” said Sumeet Chugh, MD, lead author of the study and director of the Center for Prevention of Cardiac Arrest. “We were surprised to learn that being a woman is an independent predictor of these events.”
Medical experts have the secret, Chugh says, because in those late hours, most patients are in a state of rest, with a lower metabolism, heart rate and blood pressure.
Sudden heart attack – also known as sudden cardiac death – is an electrical disturbance of the heart ‘s rhythm that causes the heart to stop beating. People often develop a sudden heart attack with a heart attack. However, a heart attack is caused by a buildup of cholesterol plaque that creates blockage in the coronary arteries. And unlike a heart attack, when most have symptoms, sudden heart death can occur without warning signs.
Another major difference: Most people survive a heart attack, with only 10% of patients surviving a heart attack outside of hospital.
Of the approximately 350,000 people affected by the condition each year in the U.S., approximately 17% to 41% of cases occur in the overnight hours between 10pm and 6am.
In the study, Chugh and his team of investigators looked at records of 4,126 patients, with 3,208 cases during the day of sudden heart attack and 918 cases overnight. Compared with daytime cases, patients who suffered an overnight heart attack were more likely to be female.
Although more work is needed, the researchers suggest that partial breathing may cause this increased risk at night for women.
Chugh’s research also shows:
- 25.4% of women surveyed suffered a heart attack at night against 20.6% of their male peers.
- The incidence of lung disease was significantly higher in those who had a heart attack at night compared with those who had a heart attack during the day.
- Those who had a heart attack at night were more often with a previous or routine smoking history.
“The incidence of obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma was found to be significantly higher in cases of sudden cardiac arrest at night compared to cases during the day, regardless of gender,” said Chugh, also Chair of Pauline and Harold Price in Cardiac Electrophysiology Research. “It has also been found that drugs that affect the brain, some of which can be inhaled, are used much more during the night compared to heart attacks during the day. ”
Based on these findings, this research report suggests that prescribing physicians may be cautious when recommending medications that affect the brain, for example, sedatives and drugs prescribed for pain management. and depression, for high-risk patients, especially women.
“This important research may lead physicians and the wider medical community to make stronger, science-backed recommendations in treating this difficult condition,” said Christine Albert, MD , MPH, chair of the Department of Cardiology at the Smidt Heart Institute and the Lee and Harold Kapelovitz Linguistic Chair in Cardiology. “It is also essential for a gender-based study to define a wide range of epistemology. ”
For two decades, Chugh has led the Oregon Oregon Sudden Death Survey, a unique partnership with approximately 1 million residents in the Portland, Oregon metro area in addition to the provider organizations that care for them. – first responders, hospital systems and the medical network of inspectors. Chugh will also lead the Ventura Prediction Study of Sudden Death in Mult-Ethnic Communities Study based in Ventura, California, a community partnership similar to the approximately 850,000 residents, first responders, medical examiner, and hospital systems an Ventura County.
Read more from Cedars-Sinai Blog: Heart Rhythm Demonstrations