Thank you all
I really am terrified, but knowing I have somewhere I can come and talk is a great relief. I read another post on here and kept seeing the words 'sudden death' and went to bed in a panic. Have tried not to think about it today, but once a phrase gets stuck it's hard to remove it
I just wish it was all over and done with and I was sat here typing whilst recovering.
Sudden unexpected death syndrome (SUDS or in infants SIDS) While much of this can be disputed as I am aware of it from an ICD ( Implantable cardioverter-defibrillator) support site the part I highlighted in red is very valid and once a condition (eg BAV) is determined then we are treated for that SUDS appears to have a cause that is still unknown
From
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sudden unexpected death syndrome, or Sudden unexpected nocturnal death syndrome (SUNDS), or Sudden Unknown Death Syndrome is sudden unexpected death of adolescents and adults, often during sleep. Sudden unexplained death syndrome was first noted in 1977 among Hmong refugees in the US.[2][3] The disease was again noted in Singapore, when a retrospective survey of records showed that 230 otherwise healthy Thai men died suddenly of unexplained causes between 1982 and 1990:[4] In the Philippines, where it is referred to in the vernacular as bangungot, SUNDS affects 43 per 100,000 per year among young Filipinos. Most of the victims are young males.
Contents
Causes
SUDS has been cloaked in superstition. In Thailand, it is particularly believed to be linked to eating rice cakes.[citation needed] Filipinos believe ingesting high levels of carbohydrates just before sleeping causes bangungot.
It has only been recently that the scientific world has begun to understand this syndrome. Victims of bangungot have not been found to have any organic heart diseases or structural heart problems.[citation needed]
However, cardiac activity during SUNDS episodes indicates irregular heart rhythms and ventricular fibrillation. The victim survives this episode if the heart's rhythm goes back to normal. Older Filipinos recommend wiggling the big toe of people experiencing this to encourage their heart to snap back to normal.
In the Philippines, most cases of bangungot have been linked with acute hemorrhagic pancreatitis by Filipino medical personnel although the effect might have been due to changes in the pancreas during post-mortem autolysis. In Thailand and Laos, bangungot (or in their term, sudden adult death syndrome) is caused by the Brugada syndrome
Features
The condition appears to affect primarily young Hmong men from Laos (median age 33)[9] and northeastern Thailand (where the population are mainly of Laotian descent).[10][11] There is a strong hereditary component and the victims tend to die in their sleep. From experience, bangungot is the sensation of the victim being fully aware of their surroundings however being unable to move. The victim tries to scream but cannot, and there seems to be a strain on their chest.[citation needed]
[edit] Treatment
The only proven way to prevent death is by implantation of a cardiovertor defibrillator. Oral antiarrhythmics such as propranolol are ineffective.[12]
[edit] Folk beliefs
This phenomenon is well known among the Hmong people of Laos,[13] who ascribe these deaths to a malign spirit, dab tsuam (pronounced "da cho"), said to take the form of a jealous woman. Hmong men may even go to sleep dressed as women so as to avoid the attentions of this spirit.[citation needed]
Bangungot is depicted in the Philippines as a mythological creature called batibat. This hag-like creature sits on the victim's face or chest so as to immobilize and suffocate him.
[edit] Names in different languages
Bangungot (Philippines):[14] The term originated from the Tagalog word meaning "to rise and moan in sleep".[7] It is also the Tagalog word for nightmares.
Dab tsog (Laos)[13]
Lai Tai (Thailand) (Thai: ใหลตาย; meaning "sleep and die")[10][15]
Pokkuri disease (Japan),[16] hukuri
