Excited Delirium Syndrome: Cause of Death and Prevention

A suspect, prisoner, or psychiatric patient becomes violent. The officer or hospital staff struggles to control the person, sometimes with handcuffs or four point restraints. Shortly afterward, the patient dies. This illustrates Excited Delirium Syndrome, a condition in which normal physiological changes produced by violent activity culminate in sudden cardiac death. Excited Delirium Syndrome: Cause of Death and Prevention discusses the effects of extreme stress and underlying disease, as well as both legal medication and drugs of abuse on the cardiovascular system. The authors also discuss prevention strategies and the role of the mental health professional and present a profile of the high-risk individual.