title: Call for a sudden cardiac death registry: should reporting of sudden cardiac death be mandatory?
abstract: There is currently no central mandatory pediatric sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) registry in the United States. Perhaps the time is right to actively endorse and develop a pediatric SCD registry, in collaboration with other agencies, advocacy groups, and organizations. This registry, if well constructed, thorough, and validated, would serve not only important SCD epidemiologic purposes but also provide the seed bed for closer collaboration with medical examiners and coroners and enhance critical cascade testing for identification of genotypically and/or phenotypically affected family members.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Sibley Heart Center, 2835 Brandywine Road, Suite 300, Atlanta, GA 30341, USA. campbellr@kidsheart.com
authors.forename: Robert M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.forename: Stuart
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Berger
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Ackerman
authors.forename: Anjan S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Batra
mesh_terms: D002423:Cause of Death; D016757:Death, Sudden, Cardiac / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D019221:Mandatory Reporting; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012042:Registries / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology