The term "sudden death" refers to a situation in which an individual experiences unexpected and unexplained loss of heart function, leading to brain damage or even death within minutes. This can occur due to various reasons such as cardiac arrest, drowning, suffocation, choking, electrocution, poisoning, or trauma. Sudden death is often associated with conditions like coronary artery disease, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, long QT syndrome, commotio cordis, and other heart rhythm disorders that can cause the heart to stop beating suddenly.