African Americans at Higher Risk of Sudden Cardiac Arrest than Whites, Study

A new study has revealed that African Americans are more likely to suffer from a sudden cardiac arrest when compared to Caucasians.

The research also found African Americans were more likely to suffer from a cardiac arrest at a younger age than their white counterparts and were found to risk factors related to heart disease which include kidney disease, high blood pressure and diabetes.

"With this study, we confirmed that as was observed a couple decades ago, the burden of sudden cardiac arrest among African Americans compared to European-descent white Americans is still higher," said senior author Dr. Sumeet Chugh of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

In the event of a cardiac arrest, blood flow to the vital organs of the body is interrupted since the heart stops beating and if the person is not given proper medical attention quickly, he could die within minutes.

Each year in the US alone there 400,000 cases of cardiac arrests outside the confines of a hospital and according to Sudden Cardiac Arrest foundation, 9 out of 10 people will die from this type of cardiac arrest.

During the study, the researchers looked at the medical records of 1,745 white people and 179 black people from Oregon who suffered a cardiac arrest between 2002 and 2012.

Over all, 175 African American men were estimated to be likely to suffer from a cardiac arrest out of 100,000. With African American woman, the scientists observed 90 cases out of 100,000 people per year.

On the other hand, with white men the numbers were 84 cases out of 100,000 people each year while with white women it was 40 per 100,000.

The blacks were also found to significantly younger - by six years or more when compared to the white at the time of the cardiac arrest.

Chugh says that the differences in healthcare can be traced down to social, genetic or cultural differences.