SCA Statistics

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SCA can happen to anyone, anywhere, anytime - a family member at home, friend at the park, or a colleague at work. SCA has been shown to be the leading cause of death in the United States, taking the lives of 350,000 people annually¹.

SCA, however, is also a condition that is commonly misunderstood, especially in younger individuals. While most prevalent in older populations, SCA affects between 7,000 to 23,000 youth (under 18 years of age) annually, according to the American Heart Association². It has been shown that SCA is the leading cause of death on school campuses and the primary cause of death for student athletes³.

Despite these estimates, the precise incidence of SCA in younger populations is likely far greater than presently reported due to a lack of a national centralized registry that documents all cases of SCA (or sudden cardiac death - SCD) in youth⁴.

1 American Heart Association - Sudden Cardiac Arrest Facts (2021)

2 American Heart Association Heart Disease & Stroke Statistics (2019 Update)

3 Journal of Athletic Training (2017)

4 Cardiac Screening of Young Athletes: a Practical Approach to Sudden Cardiac Death Prevention (Journal of Current Treatment Options in Cardiovascular Medicine) (2018)

Source: Cleveland Clinic

Victims of cardiac arrest outside of a hosptial setting (schools, gyms, athletic events, etc) with an AED have a 93% chance of survival versus 9% chance when no AED is present.

Source: Cleveland Clinic

Victims of cardiac arrest outside of a hosptial setting (schools, gyms, athletic events, etc) with an AED have a 93% chance of survival versus 9% chance when no AED is present.

Source: Cleveland Clinic

Victims of cardiac arrest outside of a hosptial setting (schools, gyms, athletic events, etc) with an AED have a 93% chance of survival versus 9% chance when no AED is present.

Source 1: Corrado D, Basso C, Rizzoli G, Schiavon M, Thiene G. Does sports activity enhance the risk of sudden death in adolescents and young adults? JACC. 2003; 42: 1959-1963.
Source 2: Maron BJ, Haas TS, Ahluwalia A, Rutten-Ramos SC. Incidence of cardiovascular sudden deaths in Minnesota high school athletes. Heart Rhythm. 2013; 10: 374-377.
Source 3: Toresdahl BG, Rao AL, Harmon KG, Drezner JA. Incidence of sudden cardiac arrest in high school student athletes on school campus. Heart Rhythm. 2014; 11: 1190-1194.

Athletes face a three times greater risk of SCA compared to non athletes

Source: Pelto HF, Drezner JA. Design and implementation of an emergency action plan for sudden cardiac arrest in sport. J Cardiovasc Translational Res. 2020; 13: 331-338.

Nearly 75% of all SCA cases in young athletes occur in basketball, football, and soccer players

Source: Harmon KG, Asif IM, Maleszewski JJ, et al. Incidence, cause, and comparative frequency of sudden cardiac death in national collegiate athletic association athletes: a decade in review. Circulation. 2015; 132: 10-19.

Black athletes were nearly three times more likely to suffer from SCA when compared to their white counterparts

Male athletes were nearly four times more likely to have an episode of SCA when compared to female athletes

Source: Corrado D, Pelliccia A, Bjørnstad HH, et al. Cardiovascular pre-participation screening of young competitive athletes for prevention of sudden death: proposal for a common European protocol. Consensus statement of the study group of sport cardiology of the working group of cardiac rehabilitation and exercise physiology and the working group of myocardial and pericardial diseases of the European Society of Cardiology. Eur Heart J. 2005; 26: 516-524.

The rate of SCD in Italy declined by nearly 90% after the implementation of ECG screening

The European Sports Committee (ESC) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) advocate for the addition of the ECG to the sports screening