_____ cardiomyopathy is the most common cause of sudden cardiac death among young people
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, while usually not fatal in most people, is the most common cause of heart-related sudden death in people under 30. It's the most common cause of sudden death in athletes. HCM often goes undetected. Some specific causes of sudden cardiac death in young people include: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). This is a disease in which the heart muscle (myocardium) becomes abnormally thick, making it harder for the heart to pump blood. Another rare cause of sudden cardiac death that can occur in anyone, though it's usually heard about in young people who play sports, is called commotio cordis. It occurs as the result of a blunt blow to the chest, such as being hit by a baseball or hockey puck, at just the right time. Leonard, 16, died of cardiac arrest while playing basketball last Thursday, CNN affiliate WOOD reported. He'd had an enlarged heart, an autopsy found. His wasn't the only sudden death among sports-playing U.S. high schoolers in the last two weeks. Matthew Hammerdorfer, 17, died playing rugby in Fort Collins, Colorado, due to cardiac arrest from a congenital heart defect. In North Carolina, 16-year-old Javaris Brinkley died of heart failure after playing basketball at a church Monday; he'd had a known heart condition, according to the Roanoke Rapids Daily Herald. Other causes of sudden cardiac death in young people include structural abnormalities of the heart, such as unrecognized congenital heart disease and heart muscle abnormalities. Other causes include inflammation of the heart muscle, which can be caused by viruses and other illnesses. Research suggests that the main cause is aloss of proper heart rhythm, causing theheart to quiver instead of pumpingblood to the brain and body. This is calledventricular Kbrillation (ven-TRICK-you-lar Kb-roo-LAY-shun). There are about 50 to 100 sudden deaths among athletes in middle, high school and college every year, said Dr. Marlon Rosenbaum, associate clinical professor of medicine and pediatrics at Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons. Other diseases of the heart that can lead tosudden death in young people include: ● Myocarditis (my-oh-car-DIE-tis), an acuteinLammation of the heart muscle (usuallydue to a virus). ● Dilated cardiomyopathy, an enlargementof the heart for unknown reasons. ● Long QT syndrome and other electricalabnormalities of the heart which causeabnormal fast heart rhythms that can alsorun in families. ● Marfan syndrome, an inherited disorderthat aﬀects heart valves, walls of majorarteries, eyes and the skeleton. Others can develop following anormal screening evaluation, such as aninfection of the heart muscle from a virus.T ng v dreview of the family health history need tobe performed on a yearly basis by theathlete’s primary healthcare provider. Withproper screening and evaluation, most casescan be identiKed and prevented. Another serious but rarer condition among young people is dilated cardiomyopathy, in which the heart is enlarged but the walls are thin. This is the condition that Leonard had, WOOD reported. In adults, it's the No. 1 reason people get defibrillators implanted, Gilliam said.
Hypertrophic