Family screening is necessary to prevent sudden death in apparently healthy young adults. Indeed, 40% of sudden deaths from cardiomyopathies are of hereditary origin. Screening is therefore possible.
Four in ten cardiomyopathies, a major cause of sudden cardiac death and heart failure in young people, are hereditary and therefore preventable, according to a study by the European Society of Cardiology, published today in European Heart Journal.
There is an urgent need to prevent the sudden premature death of apparently healthy young adults whose parents have suffered or died from cardiomyopathy, the newspaper said. Cardiomyopathy is an alteration of the heart muscle that becomes thickened or stiff. When the disease worsens, the heart becomes weaker and less able to pump blood through the body.
Essential screening
“We were surprised to see how often the disease was inherited,” said lead author of the study Philippe Charron. “Therefore, it is very important to improve screening to detect the disease in parents appearing to be healthy.”
Two-thirds of the patients in the study were diagnosed through family screening, which includes an echocardiogram and an EKG to be performed on a patient’s family. The study also suggests that the recommendations should be changed so that screening begins before the age of ten and exceeds the current threshold of 50 to 60 years.
“Centers of expertise for cardiomyopathies improve the diagnosis and management of these diseases in patients and members of their families”, assures Professor Charron. “They help prevent heart failure and sudden death.”
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