Only 1 per cent of Irish people who experience cardiac arrest recover, compared to a 30 per cent survival rate in US cities where action has been taken to save lives, a conference on Sudden Adult Death Syndrome (SADS) in Dublin heard at the weekend.
SADS is caused by a variety of heart conditions that may result in unexpected cardiac arrests. Up to 50 per cent of people who die display no warning symptoms.
Speaking at the conference in Dublin City University on Saturday, leading cardiologist Dr Joseph Galvin claimed that quick access to a defibrillator, a machine that sends a shock wave to kick-start the heart, could greatly improve survival rates.
"Irrespective of the underlying cause, the mechanism, particularly in young healthy people, is virtually always the same, a lethal cardiac electrical disturbance that can be fixed with an electrical shock.
"These are difficult things to pick up, so the bulk of lives will be saved through community-based automatic external defibrillator programmes," he said.
SADS came to prominence earlier this year following the sudden death of Tyrone footballer Cormac McAnallan.
The 24-year-old, who was due to be married this summer, took ill at his home in Eglish on March 2nd and died a short time later. His mother said yesterday on RTÉ Radio that there were still issues surrounding her son's death.
It is estimated that 6,000 people die of the syndrome each year. However, there is a lack of hard data on sudden cardiac deaths.
This is often due to the way that death certificates are filled out. For instance, the cause of death can often be attributed to a fatal asthma attack or stroke.
Several different approaches to dealing with the problem of sudden cardiac death were put forward at the day-long conference.
The Automatic External Defibrillator Council is currently running a campaign in Ireland for the establishment of community-based resuscitation programmes.
Some €6 million would be needed to train local volunteers nationwide in the use of AEDs, which involves the administration of an electrical shock to the heart through the use of the device.
The campaign argues that if these defibrillators were available in large venues, such as sports grounds, shopping centres and community centres, people's lives could be saved.
Ireland also needs to set up a national cardiac arrest registry in order to establish the extent of the condition in Ireland, experts say. The Irish Heart Foundation has also supported calls by Dr Galvin that secondary school students in transition year be instructed in cardiac resuscitation.
Dr Galvin, who works at the Mater Hospital in Dublin, said gardaí should be instructed in cardiac resuscitation and that patrol cars should carry a defibrillator.
All sports coaches should also be instructed in cardiac resuscitation, he added, and defibrillators should be available at all sporting venues throughout the country as a matter of course.