title: Mechanisms of sudden cardiac death.
abstract: Despite recent advances in preventing sudden cardiac death (SCD) due to cardiac arrhythmia, its incidence in the population at large has remained unacceptably high. Better understanding of the interaction among various functional, structural, and genetic factors underlying the susceptibility to, and initiation of, fatal arrhythmias is a major goal and will provide new tools for the prediction, prevention, and therapy of SCD. Here, we review the role of aberrant intracellular Ca handling, ionic imbalances associated with acute myocardial ischemia, neurohumoral changes, and genetic predisposition in the pathogenesis of SCD due to cardiac arrhythmia. Therapeutic measures to prevent SCD are also discussed.
authors.affiliation: Krannert Institute of Cardiology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana 46202-5225, USA. mrubartv@iupui.edu
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rubart
authors.forename: Douglas P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Zipes
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D001145:Arrhythmias, Cardiac / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D016757:Death, Sudden, Cardiac / Q000209:etiology; D004562:Electrocardiography; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D007473:Ion Channels / Q000378:metabolism; D017202:Myocardial Ischemia / Q000503:physiopathology; D009206:Myocardium / Q000378:metabolism*; D012084:Renin-Angiotensin System / Q000502:physiology; D015290:Second Messenger Systems / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D007473:Ion Channels; D002118:Calcium