title: Sudden cardiac death--historical perspectives.
abstract: Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is an unexpected death due to cardiac causes that occurs in a short time period (generally within 1 h of symptom onset) in a person with known or unknown cardiac disease. It is believed to be involved in nearly a quarter of human deaths, with ventricular fibrillation being the most common mechanism. It is estimated that more than 7 million lives per year are lost to SCD worldwide. Historical perspectives of SCD are analyzed with a brief description on how the developments in the management of sudden cardiac arrest evolved over time.
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor, Cardiology, Department of Cardiology, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Trivandrum, Kerala, India.
authors.forename: S P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Abhilash
authors.affiliation: Associate Professor, Cardiology, Department of Cardiology, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Trivandrum, Kerala, India. Electronic address: kknnamboodiri@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Narayanan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Namboodiri
mesh_terms: D016887:Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation / Q000266:history; D016757:Death, Sudden, Cardiac; D047548:Defibrillators / Q000266:history*; D017147:Defibrillators, Implantable / Q000266:history; D049671:History, 18th Century; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049690:History, Ancient; D006801:Humans; D014693:Ventricular Fibrillation / Q000266:history* / Q000517:prevention & control
keywords: Cardiopulmonary resuscitation; Defibrillator; Sudden cardiac death