CLINICAL PERSPECTIVES Sudden cardiac death in the young a….Image.Marked.pdf

Internal Medicine Journal 37 (2007) 32–37 CLINICAL PERSPECTIVES Sudden cardiac death in the young: a clinical genetic approach J. Ingles1,2 and C. Semsarian1,2,3 1Agnes Ginges Centre for Molecular Cardiology, Centenary Institute, 2Genetic Heart Disease Clinic, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and 3 Faculty of Medicine, Central Clinical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Key words Abstract sudden cardiac death, screening, gene, family, multidisciplinary. The sudden death of a young person is a devastating event for both the family and community. Over the last decade, significant advances have been made in Correspondence understanding both the clinical and genetic basis of sudden cardiac death in Christopher Semsarian, Agnes Ginges Centre the young. Many of the causes of sudden death in the young are due to genetic for Molecular Cardiology, Centenary Institute, heart disorders, which can lead to both structural (e.g. hypertrophic cardio- Locked Bag 6, Newtown, NSW 2042, Australia. myopathy) and arrhythmogenic (e.g. familial long QT syndrome) abnormalities. Email: c.semsarian@centenary.usyd.edu.au Most commonly, sudden cardiac death in the young can be the first presentation of doi:10.1111/j.1445-5994.2006.01241.x an underlying heart problem, leaving the family at a loss as to why an otherwise healthy young person has died. Not only is this a tragic event for those involved, but it also presents a medical challenge to the clinician involved in the manage- ment