Regular ECG May Help Identify Patients at Risk of Sudden Cardiac Death

QRS duration (QRSd)--one of several measures of heart function recorded during a routine electrocardiogram (ECG)--has been found to be a significant predictor of sudden cardiac death, according to a new study.

Researchers from New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center (New York, NY, USA) and the Ochsner Clinic Foundation (New Orleans, LA, USA) analyzed data drawn from a large, multicenter study of patients with hypertension (conducted between 1995 and 2001) that was initially designed to test the comparative effects of two medications on patients' blood pressure and overall cardiovascular health. The authors of the new statistical study looked at some of these data from the LIFE study and investigated a possible association between prolonged QRSd and the risk of sudden cardiac death.

The researchers were able to isolate and control potential confounders such as left bundle branch block (LBBB), and also controlled for abnormal enlargement of the left ventricle, known as left ventricle hypertrophy (LVH), another common cardiac abnormality associated with sudden cardiac death. Once these variables were controlled, a clear link between abnormal QRSd and the risk of sudden death emerged. The study was published in the August 17, 2009, online edition of the European Heart Journal.

"Because an ECG is a routine part of every patient's annual physical exam, physicians can easily track it and take note of any change,” said senior author Prof. Peter Okin, M.D. "If QRSd increases, it suggests an increased risk of sudden cardiac death--and that additional evaluation and treatment may be indicated. What we hope is that physicians will start paying more attention to QRSd as a warning signal. If they do, lives could be saved.”

Sudden cardiac death (SCD) accounts for more than half of all deaths from cardiovascular disease. It is defined as unexpected death within 24 hours of cardiac symptoms, including those that cannot be traced to an identifiable cause, such as long-term congestive heart failure (CHF).

Related Links:
New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center
Ochsner Clinic Foundation