Surviving next of kin should request an autopsy more often if the family member who suddenly died of heart failure was younger than fifty years old. An autopsy can reveal heart defects in the family. This is why the UMC Utrecht has begun a study to increase the number of autopsies. Cardiologist Pieter Doevendans reports this in Uniek, the UMC Utrecht magazine that will be published in January. In the Careful-study, UMC Utrecht wants to use autopsies to reveal the causes of sudden heart failure. Frequently occurring causes of sudden heart failure are heart muscle that is swollen or dilated, and heart rhythm defects. These conditions can be hereditary. This means that surviving next of kin are probably at risk of being afflicted with the same condition.
When an autopsy reveals a hereditary cause of death, an examination of family members subsequently takes place. Usually an ECG suffices, but a DNA examination might also be necessary to detect susceptibility to heart rhythm defects. Preventative treatment can then be given.
Doevendans: “We can provide patients who are at a great risk for cardiovascular collapse with an ICD, an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator. This device measures the electrical activity of the heart and, when necessary, delivers an electrical impulse that causes the heart to beat normally again.” Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), Meander Medical Center in Amersfoort and the Academic Medical Center of Amsterdam (AMC) are also participating in the Careful-study. Read the entire article
here.
And furthermore…
Also in Uniek,
the story of Fleur and Marieke who overcame chronic fatigue syndrome thanks to online behavioral therapy. Magnets instead of pills: how to
treat depression with magnetic stimulation. And why it is
potentially fatal for the elderly in nursing homes to receive antipsychotics frequently.
Uniek is available online at
www.umcutrecht.nl/uniek.