Applied physics helps decipher causes of sudden death

Sudden cardiac death accounts for approximately 10% of natural deaths, most of which are due to ventricular fibrillation. Each year it causes 300,000 deaths in the United States. Researchers have demonstrated for the first time that the transition to calcium alternans, an arrhythmia associated with increased risk of sudden death, has common features with the magnetic ordering of metals. This new finding improves our understanding of the physical causes of sudden death and will advance the design of drugs to prevent it.

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