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Familial Sudden Cardiac Death Associated with a Terminal QRS Abnormality on Surface 12‐Lead Electrocardiogram in the Index Case
Author(s) -
GARG ASHOK,
FTNNERAN WILLIAM,
FELD GREGORY K.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
journal of cardiovascular electrophysiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.193
H-Index - 138
eISSN - 1540-8167
pISSN - 1045-3873
DOI - 10.1111/j.1540-8167.1998.tb00947.x
Subject(s) - medicine , cardiology , procainamide , sudden death , qrs complex , ventricular fibrillation , ventricular tachycardia , sudden cardiac death , quinidine , electrocardiography , accessory pathway , fibrillation , anesthesia , atrial fibrillation , catheter ablation
Familial Sudden Death and ECG Abnormalities. A case is presented of an 18‐year‐old male who had been resuscitated following an episode of sudden death due to ventricular fibrillation. The patient was noted to have an abnormal deflection in the terminal QRS on surface ECG and an abnormal signal‐averaged KCG demonstrating a late potential coincident with the terminal QRS abnormality on the ECG. The patient had easily inducible polymorphic ventricular tachycardia during electrophysiologic study, which was suppressed by quinidine but not by procainamide or beta blockers. The surface ECG and signal‐averaged ECG also were normalized by quinidine but not by procainamide or beta blockers. The patient had no further arrhythmias on quinidine for 6 years until he inexplicably discontinued his medication and died suddenly shortly thereafter. The present case may represent a unique familial sudden death syndrome or possibly a variant of the sudden death syndrome associated with right bundle branch block and ST elevation in V 1 , through V 3 , Currently available data suggest that, in such patients, an implantable cardioverter defibrillator may provide better protection from sudden death than does antiarrhythmic drug therapy.