
12-lead electrocardiogram features of arrhythmic risk: A focus on early repolarization
Author(s) -
Caterina Rizzo,
Francesco Monitillo,
Massimo Iacoviello
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
world journal of cardiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1949-8462
DOI - 10.4330/wjc.v8.i8.447
Subject(s) - medicine , cardiology , benign early repolarization , repolarization , sudden cardiac death , lead (geology) , electrocardiography , sudden death , clinical practice , myocardial infarction , st segment , electrophysiology , physical therapy , geomorphology , geology
The 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) is still the most used tool in cardiology clinical practice. Considering its easy accessibility, low cost and the information that it provides, it remains the starting point for diagnosis and prognosis. More specifically, its ability to detect prognostic markers for sudden cardiac death due to arrhythmias by identifying specific patterns that express electrical disturbances of the heart muscle, which may predispose to malignant arrhythmias, is universally recognized. Alterations in the ventricular repolarization process, identifiable on a 12-lead ECG, play a role in the genesis of ventricular arrhythmias in different cardiac diseases. The aim of this paper is to focus the attention on a new marker of arrhythmic risk, the early repolarization pattern in order to highlight the prognostic role of the 12-lead ECG.