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Prevalence and Risk Stratification of Patients with Electrocardiographic Pattern of Early Repolarization

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J Wave Syndromes

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Abstract

The electrocardiographic (ECG) pattern of early repolarization (ER) has historically been regarded as a benign ECG variant, but during the past few years, this concept has been challenged based on multiple reports linking the ER pattern with an increased risk of sudden cardiac death. Case-control studies have shown a higher prevalence of ER in the inferior/lateral ECG lead in survivors of idiopathic ventricular fibrillation and observational follow-up studies have observed an increased risk of sudden cardiac death among middle-aged subject with the ER ECG pattern.

Although the mechanistic basis of ECG pattern of ER and its role in ventricular arrhythmogenesis are still incompletely understood, there is increasing information about the ECG and phenotype characteristics of “malignant” vs. “benign” patterns of ER. This article presents the prevalence of ER in various populations and the current evidence of markers of “benign” and a more severe nature of ER.

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Acknowledgements and Disclosures

Supported in part by the Sigrid Juselius Foundation, and Finnish academy of Science, Helsinki, Finland, and a Collaboration Project funded by the European Union under the 7th Framework Programme under grant agreement n° 602299.

Research grant: Medtronic Co, Advisory board membership: Pzizer Co, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bayer, Daichii Sanchyo.

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  1. Cardiology, Research Unit of Internal Medicine, Medical Research Center, University Hospital of Oulu, and University of Oulu, Kajaanintie 50, Oulu, 90014, Finland

    Heikki V. Huikuri MD, PhD

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Correspondence to Heikki V. Huikuri MD, PhD .

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  1. Cardiovascular Research, Lankenau Institute for Medical Research, Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, USA

    Charles Antzelevitch

  2. Lankenau Institute for Medical Research, Lankenau Medical Center, Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, USA

    Gan-Xin Yan

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Huikuri, H.V. (2016). Prevalence and Risk Stratification of Patients with Electrocardiographic Pattern of Early Repolarization. In: Antzelevitch, C., Yan, GX. (eds) J Wave Syndromes. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31578-2_9

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