Sudden cardiac death is natural death from cardiac causes, heralded by abrupt loss of consciousness within one hour of the onset of acute symptoms. Other forms of sudden death may be noncardiac in origin. Examples include respiratory arrest (such as airway obstruction in cases of choking or asphyxiation), toxicity or poisoning, anaphylaxis, or trauma.
It is important to make a distinction between this term and the related term cardiac arrest; this refers to cessation of cardiac pump function which may be reversible. The phrase sudden cardiac death is a public health concept incorporating the features of natural, rapid, and unexpected. It does not specifically refer to the mechanism or cause of death.
Famous quotes containing the words sudden and/or death:
“With sudden roar and aged pine-tree falls,—
One crash, the death-hymn of the perfect tree,
Declares the close of its green century.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“It is difficult to accept death in this society because it is unfamiliar. In spite of the fact that it happens all the time, we never see it.”
—Elisabeth Kübler-Ross (b. 1926)