Long-Term Outcome Associated with Early Repolarization on Electrocardiography

• Published in: The New England journal of medicine Vol. 361; no. 26; pp. 2529 - 2537
• Main Authors: Tikkanen, Jani T, Anttonen, Olli, Junttila, M. Juhani, Aro, Aapo L, Kerola, Tuomas, Rissanen, Harri A, Reunanen, Antti, Huikuri, Heikki V
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Massachusetts Medical Society 24.12.2009
• Subjects: Adult; Arrhythmias, Cardiac - complications; Arrhythmias, Cardiac - epidemiology; Arrhythmias, Cardiac - mortality; Arrhythmias, Cardiac - physiopathology; Cardiovascular disease; Death, Sudden, Cardiac - etiology; Electrocardiography; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Heart rate; Humans; Kaplan-Meier Estimate; Male; Mens health; Middle age; Middle Aged; Population; Prevalence; Prognosis; Questionnaires; Risk
• ISSN: 0028-4793; 1533-4406; 1533-4406
• DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa0907589

Early-repolarization patterns on electrocardiography are generally considered to be benign. However, this study with 30 years of follow-up in a Finnish population indicates that early-repolarization patterns in the inferior and lateral leads are associated with an increased risk of death from cardiac causes and from arrhythmia. This study with 30 years of follow-up indicates that early-repolarization patterns in the inferior and lateral leads are associated with an increased risk of death from cardiac causes and from arrhythmia. For decades, early repolarization, which is characterized by an elevation of the junction between the end of the QRS complex and the beginning of the ST segment (J point) from baseline on standard 12-lead electrocardiography, has been considered to be an innocuous finding, 1 but the presence of this pattern in leads other than V 1 through V 3 (especially in the inferior or lateral leads) has recently been associated with vulnerability to ventricular fibrillation in independent case–control studies. 2 – 4 Little is known about the prognostic significance of this electrocardiographic pattern in the general population. 5 We conducted a community-based study to . . .