Scientists Find There's Usually a Telltale Sign the Day Before a Cardiac Arrest

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New research shows that half of all cardiac arrest patients experience at least one noticeable physical symptom the day before the event occurs. The findings, from scientists at the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, highlight clear differences in warning signs between women and men and were published in the journal Lancet Digital Health.

Gender-Specific Warning Signs

Women most often report shortness of breath, while men typically experience chest pain. Both sexes may also notice less common symptoms such as seizure-like activity or unusual sweating. Recognizing these gender-specific signals can help patients and clinicians act quickly to prevent a crisis that proves fatal in up to 90 percent of cases.

Identifying these telltale signs early may allow timely intervention. “Harnessing warning symptoms to perform effective triage for those who need to make a 911 call could lead to early intervention and prevention of imminent death,” said the study’s principal investigator Summet Chugh. “Our findings could lead to a new paradigm for prevention of sudden cardiac death.”

Study Design and Key Results

Researchers analyzed data from two large cardiac-arrest studies conducted in California and Oregon, covering patients aged 18 to 85. They compared these cases with individuals who reported similar symptoms but did not suffer cardiac arrest. The analysis revealed that people who recognize a warning sign and contact emergency services before collapsing are five times more likely to survive.

“Warning symptoms hold promise for prediction of imminent sudden cardiac arrest but might need to be augmented with additional features to maximize predictive power,” the authors concluded.

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