Skopje, 26 September 2025 (MIA) - The high numbers of sudden cardiac deaths in young people are concerning and regional health care systems need to introduce heart screening programs and genomic testing to save lives, doctors participating in the second International Meeting on Sudden Cardiac Death in the Balkan Area told MIA ahead of the conference taking place in Skopje.

Forensic physician and Macedonian Society for Forensic Medicine president Zlatko Jakjovski said the conference was important because sudden cardiac arrest was a frequent occurence in young people but it was underdiagnosed as a cause of death. 

Jakjovski said the region needed to establish a digital database of medical records and post-mortem findings, which would also include genomic testing reports.

He said conference participants were expected to adopt a unified protocol on sudden cardiac arrest in all Balkan countries.

The new protocol would help doctors diagnose patients as well as advise relatives of people who had died from sudden cardiac arrest to be alert to symptoms in themselves or their genetic predisposition to heart disease, he said.

Jakjovski said Macedonian forensic experts used advanced technology in their forensic examinations to identify specific biological markers for sudden cardiac death in post-mortem samples.

"Our goal is for other countries in the region to follow this same protocol," Jakjovski said, welcoming the collaboration with regional colleagues.

"I hope that in a couple years we will adopt this unified protocol," he said.

According to Jakjovski, people need to learn how to protect their health and lead healthy lives, but also learn about genomic testing, which is used to diagnose inherited health conditions, predict disease risk and personalize treatment plans.

Genomic testing, he said, could prevent some diseases and save people's lives.

Institute of Forensic Medicine and Criminology director Aleksandar Stankov said sudden cardiac arrest was the leading cause of sudden death.

"With the right research," Stankov said, "we can find out what causes it and prevent it in the future, saving lives."

The state university's Faculty of Medicine dean Svetozar Antovikj said medicine was still looking for answers regarding sudden cardiac death.

Health Insurance Fund director Sasho Klekovski said the state had a special budget for researching sudden cardiac death.

"This is one piece of the mosaic we need to piece together so we can reach our goal of reducing premature deaths," Klekovski said.

The first International Meeting on Sudden Cardiac Death in the Balkan Area was held in Trieste, Italy, in 2024.

The conference was founded for regional cardiologists, forensic physicians, sports medicine and exercise specialists, molecular biologists and IT experts to discuss how to prevent, detect and treat heart problems that can cause sudden death in young people.

Some 180 participants have gathered at the Skopje conference. They include experts from Italy, England, Turkiye and Switzerland, organizers said.

In addition, they said, the papers presented at the conference will also "elevate the Republic of North Macedonia's academic standing."

The conference was organized by the Macedonian Society for Forensic Medicine and the Institute of Forensic Medicine and Criminology. mr/