Cardiac Arrest during Sleep

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Abstract
Unexpected cardiac arrest happens hundreds of times each day in the United States. In view of its frequency, it is remarkable that so little is known about the events immediately preceding sudden death. When ambulatory electrocardiograms are recorded by chance during unexpected cardiac arrest, ventricular fibrillation, often preceded by a short burst of ventricular tachycardia, is usually found.1 However, it is also clear that a sudden arrest is initiated by asystole in at least a small number of selected cases.1 Nocturnal death, apparently during sleep, is not uncommon — in keeping with the observation that there is little diurnal variation . . .