Lists of expert causes of sudden death, risk factors and how …

Professor of Cardiology, RT. Rev. Samuel Ike has identified the lifestyle choices, limited access to health care and ignorance of critical warning signals as main contributions to the alarming rate of sudden deaths in Nigeria.

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Ike, who is also the Anglican bishop of the diocese of Enugu, made this statement during a public lesson entitled “The threat of sudden death in our society: what can we do?”

The conference, organized by the College of Medicine, University of Sciences and Technology of the State of Enugu (Esut) in collaboration with the state of Enugu, was held on Monday in Enugu.

The Nigeria (NAN) news agency reports that the lesson aims to illuminate the public on the growing frequency of sudden deaths, underlining preventive measures and post-management strategies to reverse the trend.

The cardiologist observed that by personalizing foreign diets on local foods, we opened the door to diseases provided with such diets.

He urged the Nigerians to avoid junk foods and consume more fruit and vegetables.

The cardiologist explained that sudden cardiac death was a natural death for cardiac (heart) caused by a sudden loss of consciousness within one hour with acute symptoms.

He said that the key elements involved are “prodromes, acute cardiovascular collapse, cardiac arrest and biological deaths”.

According to him, the symptoms include “difficulty in breathing, irregular heart beat and chest pain”, while “acute cardiovascular collapse can be reversed if appropriate intervention is applied”.

“If a patient has pain in the arm and the left side of the chest, there is a threat of death and advice to people to always control their impulses and obtain a weighing scale to control their weight regularly.

“Our lifestyles such as smoke, hard drugs and alcohol consumption, lack of exercise, rigorous exercises such as weight lifting, pressure, are some of the causes of sudden death.

“Risk factors are diabetes mellitus, smoking, obesity, heart failure, parkinson, epilepsy, hypertension and aortic, stroke,” he said.

The expert also said that factors such as excessive cold exposure, for excitement, depression, night convulsions, excessive consumption, asthma, respiratory challenges, complications in pregnancy, head injuries and abortion could lead to sudden deaths.

According to him, men suffered mostly for sudden deaths because many of them do not seek medical care but suppress the symptoms with emotions, therefore suffering in silence.

Ike explained that 40 % of the sudden deaths were not testified and that every 80 % of it happens at home.

According to him, the autopsy conducted at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH) between 2007 and 2018 showed that 13.6 percent of the deaths was a sudden death and 8 out of 29 cases of sudden deaths reached the hospital.

The priest, however, asked for political and systematic interventions, adequate hospitals equipment, use of the mass media for awareness, basic arrest reactivity and supply of emergency number to help curb the threat.

Speaking of “presentation of the case of sudden death and post-event management”, a professor of anatomical and forensic pathology, Prof. Robsam Ohayi, advised people to take autopsy and toxicology tests to determine the cause of death

He added that these tests would help them know whether the cause of death were genetic or not, appealing to the government of the Enugu state to establish a toxicological laboratory as there was nobody in the state.

In an observation, the governor Peter Mbah, represented by the Commissioner for Health, dr. Gorge Ugwu said that his administration was building 260 primary health centers in the 260 political departments in the state oriented to prevent deaths.

“Enugu is a model for other states. Enugu is investing a lot in the health sector. We want to leave a model in the health sector,” he said.

Mbah’s special consultant on health, dr. Yomi Jaiye, added that the Governor had given approval for cardio pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in all primary state health centers.

“When a person falls suddenly, he is not dead, only the blood flowing to his brain stopped. The effective application of the RCP on the person can bring him back to life.

“If you see a victim, kneel in front of him and apply the CPR by pressing the person’s chest, touching and calling his name,” he said.

In his observations, the vice-gangliere of Esut, Prof. Aloysius Okolie, said that it was not only the cardiac arrest that could lead to sudden death but also poverty, depression among others. (Nan)

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