Long-term physical functioning and psychosocial adjustment in survivors of sudden cardiac death

Objective: To identify and describe a range of functional health outcomes in a sample of suddencardiac death survivors. Design: Cross-sectional survey. Setting: Northern California tertiary medical center. Subjects: Sixty-one sudden cardiac death survivors at least 6 months but not more than 4 years after cardiac arrest. Subjects were excluded if they had uncontrolled congestive heart failure, unstable angina, other debilitating cardiac or concomitant illness, or evident cognitive deficits. Methods: Chart reviews, patient interviews, and a standardized questionnaire. Results: Survivors reported significantly poorer physical functioning than normal subjects ( p