I n the last few years, QT dispersion constitutes an intensively studied, possible prognostic factor of arrhythmic and, in general, cardiac risk as regards patients suffering from various heart diseases. High values of QT dispersion reflect an inhomogeneity of the repolarization time of the ventricular myocardium that may be the substrate for the development of malignant ventricular arrhythmias...

BACKGROUND The main complication of Kawasaki disease is the Coronary Artery (CA) involvement and long term follow up of patients depends on the severity of coronary arterial aneurysms, ischemia, and thrombosis. Early diagnosis of these complications can lead to a more desirable outcome for patients. Myocardial ischemia can prolong QT dispersion and increase the risk of cardiac arrhythmias as we...

AIM Breath-holding spells are common in infancy and early childhood, and patients are frequently referred to paediatric cardiology clinics for exclusion of heart disease. Recent data reveal subsequent development of epilepsy and neurocardiogenic syncope. Autonomic dysregulation and increased vagal stimulation leading to cardiac arrest and cerebral ischaemia is considered as the cause. Iron defi...

OBJECTIVES This study tested the correlation of QT and JT dispersion and other potentially useful electrocardiographic (ECG) indexes with dispersion of repolarization and recovery time. BACKGROUND Dispersion of ventricular repolarization is currently being assessed noninvasively from the surface ECG by means of QT and JT dispersion, although their correlation with dispersion of repolarization...

BACKGROUND We retrospectively investigated the value of clinical and ECG findings as well as QT-QRS dispersion in predicting the risk of sudden death in patients with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC). METHODS AND RESULTS Duration and interlead variability of the QT interval and QRS complex were measured manually from standard ECGs in 20 sudden death victims with ARVC dia...

OBJECTIVE To determine in arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy the value of QT interval dispersion for identifying the induction of sustained ventricular tachycardia in the electrophysiological study or the risk of sudden cardiac death. METHODS We assessed QT interval dispersion in the 12-lead electrocardiogram of 26 patients with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy. We...

Increased QT dispersion predicts the occurrence of lethal ventricular arrhythmias complicating percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA). Moreover, these arrhythmias occur more frequently at the first balloon inflation. Activation of the K(ATP) channel may influence QT dispersion and ventricular arrhythmias during coronary angioplasty, so 40 consecutive patients with stable angina w...

Patients suffering from the congenital Long-QT syndrome have been reported to react highly sensitive to the presence of β-adrenergic agents that are produced by the sympathetic nervous system. In this work we used an anisotropic and electrophysiologically heterogeneous insilico model to reproduce wedge experiments in which the Long-QT syndrome was induced pharmacologically. The integration of a...

BACKGROUND Patients with a history of class Ia drug-induced torsade de pointes have been treated with chronic amiodarone without recurrence of torsade de pointes despite comparable prolongation of the QT interval. We hypothesized that in such patients, class Ia drugs cause nonhomogeneous prolongation of cardiac repolarization times, whereas amiodarone causes homogeneous prolongation of cardiac ...

BACKGROUND Altered cardiac repolarization and increased dispersion of repolarization have been identified as risk factors for sudden cardiac death (SCD). The prevalence of and the mechanisms contributing to altered cardiac repolarization are currently unknown in COPD. METHODS In 91 COPD patients, 32 controls matched for age, cardiovascular risk and medication, and 41 healthy subjects, measure...