Drinking champagne could lower risk of sudden cardiac arrest: Study
What's the story
A groundbreaking study has found that drinking champagne, eating more fruits and keeping a healthy weight could potentially reduce the risk of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). The study identified 56 non-clinical risk factors associated with SCA. These factors included lifestyle choices, physical health measures, psychosocial elements, socioeconomic status as well as environmental influences.
Prevention potential
Study reveals potential for SCA prevention
The research team found that factors like higher champagne and white wine consumption, increased fruit intake, keeping a positive mood, weight and blood pressure control could be important protective factors against SCA. They concluded that addressing these 56 risk factors could prevent 40-63% of sudden cardiac arrest cases. The findings were published in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology.
Study details
Over half a million people studied over 14 years
The study tracked more than half a million people for an average of 14 years. Of those tracked, 3,147 people suffered SCAs during this time. The researchers used data from the UK Biobank and performed an exposome-wide association study to analyze the association between different modifiable factors as well as SCA, with lifestyle changes being the most important in preventing cases.
Risk factor elimination
Eliminating risk factors could significantly reduce SCA cases
The study indicated that removing the worst third of the 56 risk factors could prevent 40% of SCA cases. This prevention rate rose to 63% if the worst two-thirds of these factors were removed. The research's co-investigator Renjie Chen was surprised at this large proportion of preventable cases, emphasizing the need to tackle unfavorable profiles to reduce SCA incidence.
Prevention challenges
Researchers emphasize the complexity of SCA prevention
Nicholas Grubic from the University of Toronto and Dakota Gustafson from Queen's University in Ontario, highlighted the complexity of shifting focus from responding to SCAs, to preventing them. They emphasized that this multifactorial nature poses significant challenges for healthcare professionals as well as policymakers. Despite these complexities, they stressed the need for population-wide strategies prioritizing prevention in order to reduce the "immense burden" SCAs place on health systems.