ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) and the behavioral factors exhaustion and nonexpression of emotions. METHODS: Case-control study of 99 victims of SCA and 119 coronary controls, matched for gender and age. RESULTS: Victims of SCA were more often assessed as exhausted and as closed by their family members than controls. A significant interaction between exhaustion and closeness on the risk of SCA was observed. Those who were exhausted and did not express their emotions had a sevenfold greater risk of SCA. CONCLUSION: The behavioral factor of exhaustion and nonexpression of emotions may contribute to the identification of persons at elevated risk for SCA.
Subject(s)
Death, Sudden, Cardiac/etiology , Heart Arrest/psychology , Mental Health , Adult , Aged , Case-Control Studies , Expressed Emotion , Fatigue , Female , Heart Arrest/etiology , Humans , Male , Matched-Pair Analysis , Middle Aged , Risk FactorsABSTRACT
The objective of this study was to identify risk factors for sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). A retrospective case-control study was performed consisting of a group of unselected patients who had suffered SCA and had a clinical history of CAD, and a group of unselected age- and gender-matched CAD control patients living in the region of Maastricht. Information about previous myocardial infarction (MI), left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes mellitus, smoking, and coffee and alcohol consumption was collected. A logistic regression model was fitted to all mentioned variables including age and genders. Included were 117 SCA cases (84% men, mean age 65 years [+/-7]) and 144 control patients (83% men, mean age 63 years [+/-8]). Previous MI (odds ratio [OR] 4.0, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.7-9.3), hypertension (OR 2.9, 95% CI 1.5-6.1), heavy coffee consumption (>10 cups per day) (OR 55.7, 95% CI 6.4-483), and a LVEF <40% (OR 11.2, CI 4.4-28.5) were independent risk indicators for SCA in patients with CAD. Alcohol consumption (1-21 glasses per week) seemed to protect patients with CAD from SCA (OR 0.5, 95% CI 0.2-0.98). These observations suggest that changes in lifestyle factors can be of potential importance in protecting patients with CAD from dying suddenly.
