Heart checks could avoid 1 in 10 cot deaths
As many as one in 10 cases of Sudden infant death syndrome could be avoided by early screening for a heart problem and proper treatment, a new study suggests.
Scientists have long suspected some cases of SIDS, also known as cot death or crib death, may be due to an electrical problem called long Q-T syndrome, in which the heart recharges itself too slowly.
Now a study released at the European Society of Cardiology annual meeting in Stockholm has shown at least 8.4 percent of SIDS victims carry genetic mutations associated with this and related heart arrhythmias.
Professor Peter Schwartz of the University of Pavia in Italy and colleagues from Oslo University said the actual percentage was probably closer to 10 percent to 12 percent.
Sudden infant death syndrome Definition
Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the unexpected, sudden death of any infant or child under one year old, in which an autopsy does not show an explainable cause of death.
Causes, incidence, and risk factors
SIDS rates have dropped dramatically since 1992, when parents were first told to put babies to sleep on their backs or sides to reduce the likelihood of SIDS. Unfortunately, SIDS remains a significant cause of death in infants under one year old. Thousands of babies die of SIDS in the U.S. each year.
The cause of SIDS is unknown, although there are several theories. Many physicians and researchers now believe that SIDS is not a single condition that is always caused by the same medical problems, but infant death caused by several different factors.
These factors may include problems with sleep arousal or an inability to sense a build-up of carbon dioxide in the blood. Almost all SIDS deaths occur without any warning or symptoms when the infant is thought to be sleeping.
SIDS is most likely to occur between 2 and 4 months of age, and 90% occur by 6 months of age. It occurs more often in winter months, with the peak in January. There is also a greater incidence in Native Americans and African-Americans.
Since effective therapies exist for treating long Q-T syndrome, Schwartz said the deaths of many babies could be avoided by electrocardiogram (ECT) screening in the first month of life.
Such a screening program could also prevent a much larger number of sudden deaths in children and adolescents, since only a fraction of those affected by the condition die in the first year of life.
The research findings were based on an examination of the DNA from 201 victims of SIDS, which researchers compared with that of 182 non-SIDS cases.
Previous research has suggested sleeping on the stomach, nervous system problems related to breathing and abnormal metabolism in the liver could be among other causes of SIDS.
Revision date: July 8, 2011
Last revised: by Amalia K. Gagarina, M.S., R.D.