Stewardess dies at 24 – why sudden cardiac death affects young people

After the Air Albania plane landed in London, everything happened very quickly. Greta Dyrmishi died at just 24 years old. “This 24-year-old woman was a cabin crew member on a flight from Albania and was on the tarmac when she passed out and was given basic first aid,” coroner Michelle Brown told the British newspaper.Daily mail‘ on the Greta Dyrmishi case. “Ten minutes later there was no pulse and CPR began.” Paramedics treated her but only confirmed that she had died.

The autopsy revealed the cause of death: “Sudden Adult Death Syndrome”, also known as “Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome”, or SADS for short. The story of Greta Dyrmishi is as tragic as it is typical of arrhythmia syndrome and sudden cardiac death in young people.

This is behind the arrhythmia syndrome and sudden cardiac death

The British Heart Foundation defines SADS as: “When someone dies suddenly after cardiac arrest and no apparent cause can be found.” the structure of the heart appears normal.”

In contrast, sudden cardiac death (SCD) occurs “when the cause of death can be determined during an autopsy because something is wrong with the structure of the heart. For example, partially or completely blocked arteries after a heart attack.”

Sudden cardiac death usually hits young people without warning. Those affected appear to be healthy. The cause of the dramatic event is often unknown and remains so.
When young people suffer from it, there is often an unknown congenital heart disease
.

It is also treacherous: Sudden cardiac death leads unexpectedly to death within a very short time – usually an hour after the onset of the symptoms, often even faster. It is one of the leading causes of death in the western world. It usually begins with dangerous ventricular fibrillation.

Sudden cardiac death affects 65,000 Germans every year

Suddenly the heart stops beating. Blood pressure drops to zero. Those affected feel a kind of emptiness in their heads and collapse unconscious after about eight seconds. Breathing stops within two to three minutes. Death occurs after about ten minutes. This is how the German Heart Foundation summarizes the facts about sudden cardiac death, from which 65,000 people die every year in Germany alone.

As Dietrich Andresen, former CEO of the Heart Foundation, explains, this is not usually a fateful event from which there is no escape: “Sudden cardiac death is usually a complication of a long-standing cardiovascular disease, also known as coronary artery disease,” says the specialist. “The best protection against sudden cardiac death is therefore protection against coronary artery disease.” Those who suffer from it and know nothing about it are most at risk.

6 million Germans have risk factors for sudden cardiac arrest – often undetected

Coronary heart disease, or CHD for short, is most common in people over the age of 40. Autopsies on those who died suddenly showed that 75 percent had CAD. Experts estimate that around six million people are affected in Germany.

The reason:
CHD often occurs as a result of other diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes and dyslipidemia such as high cholesterol.

But what exactly is behind coronary heart disease? According to the German Heart Foundation, this is a circulatory disorder in the heart muscle due to narrowing of the coronary arteries. These in turn lead to scarring of the heart muscles and thus promote cardiac arrhythmias. The disease also frequently causes cardiac insufficiency (heart failure).

Causes: This can be behind sudden cardiac death

However, other diseases can also be the cause of sudden cardiac death – especially in people under 40. From heart muscle inflammation, which is triggered by a delayed infection, i.e. bacteria and viruses, to congenital heart defects and genetic heart diseases.

Another cause can also play a role in younger people in particular: the use of drugs such as cocaine and amphetamines.

On the trail of the causes of sudden cardiac arrest

The British Heart Foundation explains what traces the pathologist is looking for during the autopsy. For example, death could have been caused by:

• coronary heart desease
• Heart attack
• heart failure
• clots in the lungs

If the pathologist doesn’t find an obvious cause of death, they may do other tests, such as:

• Analyze organ tissue
• Tests for medication or drugs in the body

SADS is the result when death is still unexplained after these tests.

In this case, the medical examiner usually recommends that family members be tested for inherited heart disease.

That’s not always easy – especially when someone has just lost a loved one. But the experts emphasize: “The sooner you and your family are tested, the less risk you have of a family member leaving a heart problem untreated.”

For pictures and videos of emergency assistance for cardiac arrest and heart attack, go to
www.herzstiftung.de/herznotfall-verhalten.html