Sudden Cardiac Death in Asian Prospects

Sudden Cardiac Death of Asian Prospects Young-Hoon Kim, MD. Cardiology Division, Korea University Medical Center, Seoul, Korea Due to the geographic, economical, and cultural differences in different countries of Asia, there are significant regional variations in coronary artery disease (CAD) incidence. Currently, CAD has already become the major type of heart disease. It can be expected that the incidence of sudden cardiac death (SCD) will increase and become a heavy healthcare burden. However, there are very few studies of the epidemiology and the clinical prevention and treatment of SCD in Asia. Low rate of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) by lay person or family members at home, delayed resuscitation, and limited public access automated defibrillator (AED) resulted in very low rate of survival to discharge in out of hospital SCD patients in Asia. Large-scale epidemiologic and genetic studies are required to clarify SCD high-risk patients and SCD genes in Asia. Increased awareness of SCD by public education is required and community-based resuscitation program is an effective means to increase the survival to discharge of the victims of SCD. Establish extensive public availability of AEDs. ICDs, especially as the primary prevention for high-risk SCD patients, are of great importance. Prospective, multicenter trials designed to directly address the problem of SCD in Asia are warranted to establish.