Sudden death from cardiac causes in children and young adults.

Although sudden death in a young person is rare, it can have a great impact on both the lay and the medical communities. Such unanticipated deaths sometimes occur in dramatic circumstances and often have medical and legal ramifications. Some of these deaths are not predictable or preventable by current practical means; however, in many cases there are premonitory symptoms, a family history of sudden death at a young age, clinical or electrocardiographic abnormalities, or high-risk behavior. Among older adults, sudden deaths are often due to atherosclerotic coronary artery disease and terminal ventricular fibrillation. Each year there are 300,000 such deaths . . .