Prevention of sudden cardiac death in Pediatrics: the essential role of Primary Care pediatricians

Sudden death is defined as the sudden and unexpected death in the absence of known cardiovascular abnormalities. The probability of a young patient to survive after a cardiac arrest outside the hospital is <20% so identification of patients at risk is essential. Up to 90% of sudden deaths have a cardiovascular origin and it would be theoretically possible to identify such patients at risk before the event in order to prevent it. Although sudden death may be the first manifestation of the disease, patients with primary structural-functional or electrical heart disease have often previous symptoms such as dizziness, chest pain, syncope, palpitations, dyspnea, or a family history of sudden death. Sometimes these warning signs can be misinterpreted or ignored by patients, parents or medical staff. Sudden death prevention strategies include recognizing diseases with risk of sudden death by screening procedures and maintain a high index of suspicion all time while attending children.