University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers receive funding for program on sudden cardiac arrest

A multidisciplinary team of University of Wisconsin-Madison physiologists and cardiac specialists have launched a new program to study the mysteries of sudden cardiac arrest, thanks to a grant from the National Heart, Blood and Lung Institute. The grant, which will pay $9.77 million over five years, will establish a program to study sudden cardiac arrest due to calcium-triggered arrhythmias. Researchers will study the genetics and electrophysiological mechanisms of inherited diseases and syndromes such as catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT), long QT syndrome, and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. In each instance, sudden cardiac arrest is associated with a surge in catecholamines (of which adrenaline is one) in response to stressors such as exercise