Pediheart Podcast #263: What Are The Cardiac Causes Of Sudden Death In Adolescence?

This week we review a recent work from the UK on the causes of death in adolescents who die suddenly. The novelty of this week's work is that all the individuals in this very large study had specialized cardiac pathologists perform careful assessments of the hearts of these subjects. What is the most common cardiac cause of SCD in the adolescent and how do the findings of this work compare with prior works on this topic? What sort of screening should be considered when encountering a patient with SCD? Why would LVH (without HCM) possibly be a cause of SCD in the young? Should all SCD victims have evaluation by a cardiac pathologist? What is the role of molecular autopsy? These are amongst the many topics reviewed with the senior author of this week's work, noted Professor of Pathology, Dr. Mary Sheppard of St. George's, University of London, London UK. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2023.01.041