Could Blood Sex Hormones Help Determine Risk of Cardiac Arrest?

Recent findings show that blood sex hormone levels may be a good indicator of cardiac arrest risk--a condition that carries a 95 percent fatality rate if prompt medical treatment is not received.

"This is the first time it has been reported that there is an association between sex hormone levels and sudden cardiac arrest," said lead study author Sumeet Chugh, director of the heart rhythm centre at Cedars Sinai Heart Institute in the United States, via the Times of India.

The findings are part of Oregon Sudden Unexpected Death Study that seeks to assess cardiac deaths in Oregon. For the study, researchers measured sex hormone levels in 149 patients who suffered cardiac arrest and compared them to levels measured in equal number of people suffering from coronary heart disease. 

Men in the cardiac arrest group received 4.4 nanogrammes of testosterone and 68 picogrammes of estradiol per milliliter while the other group showed 5.4 nanogrammes of testosterone and 52 picogrammes of estradiol. Women showed 54 picogrammes of estradiol compared to 36 picogrammes per milliliter in the women with coronary artery disease, with findings revealing higher levels of estradiol and lower levels of testosterone in the first group, leading them into an increased risk. 

"Because sudden cardiac arrest is usually fatal, we are constantly looking for ways to predict which patients are susceptible so we can concentrate on prevention," Chugh concluded. "If we wait until someone has a sudden cardiac arrest, it is usually too late for treatment."

Up to five million people worldwide die from this issue.