Sudden Cardiac Death

New research in the Neurocardiac field is showing that sudden unexpected heart attacks from disruptive life events in seemingly healthy individuals is directly related to the nervous systems influence over the heart.

It seems that a sudden increase in stimulation too the nervous system will cause elevation in catecholemines, which is a stress hormone. This increased level of hormone has a toxic effect on direct contact with heart tissue and is what causes the attack to occur.

These disruptive life events were categorized the following way:
1) Collapse or Death of a close person
2) Acute Grief
3) Threat of loss of a close person
4) During mourning or an anniversary
5) Loss of status or self-esteem
6) Personal danger or threat of injury
7) After danger is over
8) Reunion or triumph

All were said to involve overwhelming excitation, giving up, or both.

A lack of balance in the body's ability to deal with stress has serious implications and consequences. It is directly related to how your brain and spinal cord transmit information. If there is interference to this information then there will be inappropriate responses. Sudden Cardiac Death is an inappropriate response to the disruptive life events listed above.

1) MA Samuels, The Brain-Heart Connection (part 1), Contemporary Reviews in Cardiovascular Medicine, Circulation. 2007;116:77-84.