Living a healthy lifestyle — exercising regularly, eating well, maintaining a healthy weight, and not smoking — can help reduce the risk of SCA. Monitoring and controlling blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and diabetes is also important. If there is a family history of SCA or an inherited heart condition, it is important to speak to your GP and ask for a referral to a cardiologist or cardiac electrophysiologist. If abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias) are detected, they can be treated through implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) therapy, medications such as ACE inhibitors, beta-blockers, and calcium channel blockers, or catheter ablation. Some patients, particularly those who have had a previous heart attack or are awaiting assessment for a permanent ICD, may benefit from a wearable cardioverter defibrillator (WCD).
