Sudden cardiac death comes most often from cardiac arrest. According to the US Government’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention, it is the most significant cause of natural death in the US, resulting in around 325,000 adult deaths yearly and about 50% of all heart disease deaths.
Sudden cardiac death affects men twice as often as women, mostly in adults aged mid-30s to mid-40s. It is unusual in children.
When the body suffers a sudden cardiac arrest, vital organs no longer receive oxygen and cannot survive for more than a few minutes at most. It is fatal without immediate resuscitation to help get oxygen-rich blood flowing into the brain and other organs.