American Heart Association Heart and Stroke 2000 Statistical Update 2001 Heart and Stroke Statistical Update About Sudden Death and Cardiac Arrest Sudden death from cardiac arrest is a major health problem that has received much less publicity than heart attack.
Death occurs instantly or shortly after symptoms appear.
Although the direct medical costs are much less than for lingering illnesses, the economic and social impacts of sudden death are huge. Sudden death occurs on average at about 60 years of age, claims many people during their most productive years, and devastates unprepared families. The American Heart Association offers these statistics as part of our campaign to increase cardiac arrest survival across the United States. In 90 percent of adult sudden death victims, two or more major coronary arteries are narrowed by atherosclerosis. Scarring from a prior heart attack is found in two-thirds of victims.