Sudden Cardiac Death

It’s a rare condition, but when it happens it can be deadly. “Teenagers all the way to college aged athletes who are playing sports and all of a sudden will drop out or have a fainting episode.” If that happens, there’s no time to waste. “Immediately you need to have resuscitation like a defibrillator nearby,” said Lee Health Pediatrician Dr. Phillip Mote.

Dr. Mote said it’s called sudden cardiac death. It’s a blood flow issue and it can happen to healthy athletes. “It’s not your typical older age had an unhealthy lifestyle and had a heart attack, it’s more structural or genetic shape of your heart.

The good news is doctors are screening more for it as a part of their regular care package. They’ve found that it tends to run in families. “If you have a family member who had a heart attack before age 55 that was kind of unexplained, then we would want you to see a specialist and get a more thorough heart work up before you play very competitive sports,” said Dr. Mote.

It can manifest itself in minor ways, so it’s important that young athletes listen to their body. “We get way more concerned with a high intensity athlete having chest pain while exercising. That’s a big red flag,” said Dr. Mote. Knowing the signs, symptoms, and risk factors can save a life.

Lee Health in Fort Myers, FL is the largest network of health care facilities in Southwest Florida and is highly respected for its expertise, innovation and quality of care. For more than 100 years, we’ve been providing our community with personalized preventative health services and primary care to highly specialized care services and robotic assisted surgeries. Lee Health - Caring People. Inspiring Care.

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My dad passed away from cardiac arrest