Sudden deaths. A topic that has been discussed a lot in Cyprus recently. Cardiologist, Dr. Zacharias Kounnis, is a guest on the “Update Now” TV program.

“There is no increase in sudden deaths that should worry us. There is no reason to worry.” He mentioned though that is a huge issue indeed. “We have about 2000 a day sudden deaths in the USA and developing countries. It’s like we have 4-5 planes going down every day without any survivors.”

The doctor emphasized that “the way we have to deal with the issue of sudden deaths is through prevention”, while he noted that “the main cause is coronary heart disease”.

Deaths of young people under the age of 35

Regarding the sudden deaths of people under the age of 30-35, the doctor said that person belong in a special group with low incidence of CAD but mainly they may have even anatomical problems of the heart such as hypertrophic or dilated cardiomyopathy or with nonstructural heart disease such as arrhythmologic primary events. In these cases, also prevention is the main way to prevent sudden cardiac death.

The doctor also emphasized that “all ages have a possibility of sudden death”.