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The sudden death of a child is traumatic for all and often leads to screening of siblings and even cousins for underlying cardiac disease. In fact, guidelines call for screening of family members in this circumstance. In countries with large centralized healthcare systems, positive screens have been found in 10% to 30% of first-degree relatives. To learn more about findings in the U.S., investigators conducted a large retrospective study at a single tertiary-care children's hospital.
Of 256 children who died suddenly, a specific cardiac etiology was found in only 16%. Screening occurred in 419 pediatric relatives. A heritable cardiac disease was found in 9.3% — 95% of whom had first-degree relatives with cardiac disease (decedents or others)…