Editorial Minnesota coding and the prevalence of ECG abnormalities

The electrocardiogram (ECG) has been used in population studies for over 40 years. The value of such research from an electrocardiographic standpoint relates to determining the prognostic value of various ECG abnormalities. The prevalence and prognostic significance of ECG abnormalities have recently been comprehensively reviewed, following an earlier extensive summary of the ECG in epidemiology and clinical trials. The most recent survey in the current issue of Heart from a Belgian team concentrates on the prevalence of various ECG abnormalities in the general population through an analysis of ECGs from 47 358 men and women; as such, it builds on earlier reports from the same authors where the prognostic significance of ECG abnormalities in a subset of the same population was reported. 5