One hot dog too many. After eating a large piece of hot dog at school, a 9-year-old suddenly passed out. Supported by emergencies he was saved at the last minute from death while his heart had stopped. The experience of this 9-year-old Turkish boy is so rare that it has aroused the curiosity of the media. This exceptional case is explained by scientists in the Pediatrics journal. The child went into syncope followed by cardiac arrest after swallowing a hot dog. The medical examinations revealed that the young patient suffers from a rare heart disorder called “Brugada syndrome”. This syndrome designates a pathology which combines electrocardiographic abnormalities and serious ventricular rhythm disturbances which can cause, as in this child, syncopeand cardiac arrests.
How could the hot dog have been responsible for cardiac arrest? According to USA Today, this food could have excessively stimulated the vagus nerve (which plays a role in the transmission of nerve impulses, in the heart rate or even in digestion) up to disrupting the heart rhythm.
“In rare cases, sudden cardiac arrest may be observed based on a possible vagal stimulus, such as eating a large bite of food,” according to doctors interviewed by USA Today.
An often overlooked syndrome
This syndrome can manifest itself differently in different people. It can range from fainting from physical activity or emotional distress to sudden death. “Other symptoms include seizures, unexplained nighttime urine or strange breathing while sleeping,” says Pam Husband, president and executive director of the Sudden Arrhythmia Death Syndromes Foundation of Canada, cited by the Canadian site Global news.
People affected by Brugada syndrome are often unaware that they have it. “It is a rare syndrome, the population does not generally think of this kind of health problem”, points out Pam Husband.
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