MJA Podcasts: Sudden cardiac death in athletes with Dr Jessica Orchard

Dr Jessica Orchard, a Centenary Institute researcher at the Agnes Ginges Centre for Molecular Cardiology and a Heart Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow, has been interviewed for the latest Medical Journal of Australia (MJA) podcast.

In the podcast, Dr Orchard discusses sudden cardiac death in athletes–how to screen for it, prepare for it, treat it and, ultimately, hopefully prevent it.

She says that around 1.3 people per 100,000 in Australia, under the age of 35, die from sudden cardiac arrest each year. The majority of these cases have a genetic component or cause.

“We need more data on sudden cardiac arrest in young people generally, to be able to better anticipate and prevent these deaths from taking place. Genetic research is an important part of the overall picture to give us that knowledge,” says Dr Orchard.

Listen to the podcast directly from the MJA website.

You can find out more here about the Centenary Institute’s Agnes Ginges Centre for Molecular Cardiology and its world-leading research into better understanding – and treating and preventing – sudden cardiac death in young people.

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