Call for a sudden cardiac death registry: should reporting of sudden cardiac death be mandatory?

Abstract

There is currently no central mandatory pediatric sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) registry in the United States. Perhaps the time is right to actively endorse and develop a pediatric SCD registry, in collaboration with other agencies, advocacy groups, and organizations. This registry, if well constructed, thorough, and validated, would serve not only important SCD epidemiologic purposes but also provide the seed bed for closer collaboration with medical examiners and coroners and enhance critical cascade testing for identification of genotypically and/or phenotypically affected family members.