Study Links Higher Estrogen Levels to Sudden Cardiac Death

**beanlicker** · 05-14-2013, 04:06 AM

May 13, 2013 08:51 AM EDT
By Staff Reporter

A recent finding links higher levels of a sex hormone known as estrogen with an increased risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD).

The study, presented at the Heart Rhythm 2013, the Heart Rhythm Society's 34 Annual Scientific Session, helps to improve the clinical predictors of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA).
The new study was based on data from the Oregon Sudden Unexpected Death Study, in which the researchers focused on two groups of people: those who died due to SCD and those who had coronary heart disease. During the hospital visit, the participants' plasma was obtained. The level of testosterone for both the groups was also measured. The researchers noticed that both the groups had similar levels of common cardiac risk factors including obesity, diabetes and mean cholesterol levels. But they noticed that the levels of testosterone were low in men with SCD, whereas in women it was high. The median estrogen levels were higher and the testosterone/estrogen ratio was low in SCD in both males and females.

"Sudden cardiac arrest claims one life every two minutes and the only way we can help decrease these numbers is to identify clinical predictors of SCA before it happens," Sumeet S. Chugh, MD, FHRS Director of the Heart Rhythm Center at the Cedars Sinai Heart Institute in Los Angeles, said in a press statement. "Sex hormones are known to have significant effects on cardiovascular physiology, but this is the first study that shows a direct connection between hormone levels and SCD risk."

SCA occurs when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. Nearly 95 percent of SCA cases end in death of the person, and nearly 350,000 deaths occur due to the same reason every year in the U.S. Compared to AIDS, breast cancer and lung cancer, SCA takes the most number of lives.