Virgen de las Nieves Hospital in Granada
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Head of the Arrhythmias and Inherited Cardiac Diseases Section at Virgen de las Nieves University Hospital in Granada and Associate Professor at the University of Granada
Secretary General of the Spanish Society of Cardiology (SEC) and Head of the Clinical and Imaging Section in the Cardiology Department at the Virgen de las Nieves Hospital in Granada
Between 2010 and 2020, nearly 2.6 million sudden deaths were recorded in Europe. This finding shows an upward trend in sudden death–attributable mortality of 2.9 % per year, with a significantly greater increase in women—although the majority of sudden deaths occurred in men—and clear geographic differences, with higher increases observed in Eastern and Southern Europe. Spain showed the greatest increase among the countries analysed, with an average annual rise of 3.3 %. The results were based on mortality data from the World Health Organization (WHO), covering 26 European countries and more than 53 million deaths. The study, published in The Lancet Regional Health, did not investigate the underlying causes, but the authors hypothesise that differences in cardiovascular risk profiles, access to healthcare, and emergency response systems may contribute to the observed trends.
A new cardiac valve stent can expand on its own, according to preclinical tests conducted in piglets; the pediatric device doubled in size as the animals matured. As the authors note in their study published in Science Advances, this offers the possibility of adapting to the rapid growth of the hearts of babies and young children with congenital conditions. The stent, which is based on a spring-like expansion mechanism, could eliminate the need for repeated surgeries in pediatric patients.