More than 30 years of Brugada syndrome: a critical appraisal of achievements and open issues

Over the last three decades, what is referred to as Brugada syndrome (BrS) has developed from a clinical observation of initially a few cases of sudden cardiac death (SCD) in the absence of structural heart disease with ECG signs of "atypical right bundle brunch block" to a predominantly electrocardiographic, and to a lesser extent genetic, diagnosis. Today, BrS is diagnosed in patients without overt structural heart disease and a spontaneous Brugada type 1 ECG pattern regardless of symptoms. The diagnosis of BrS is less clear in those with an only transient or drug-induced type 1 Brugada pattern, but should be considered in the presence of an arrhythmic syncope, family history of BrS, or family history of sudden death. In addition to survived cardiac arrest, syncope is probably the single most decisive risk marker for future arrhythmias. For asymptomatic BrS, risk stratification remains challenging. General recommendations to lower the risk in BrS include avoidance of drugs/agents known to induce and/or increase right precordial ST-segment elevation, including treatment of fever with antipyretic drugs. Several ECG markers that have been associated with an increased risk of SCD have been incorporated into a recently published risk score for BrS. The aim of this article is to provide an overview of the status of risk stratification and to illustrate open issues und gaps in evidence in BrS.

Vomiting, electrolyte disturbance, and medications; the perfect storm for acquired long QT syndrome and cardiac arrest: a case report

Background

Acquired long QT syndrome is an important and preventable cause of cardiac arrest. Certain medications and electrolyte disturbance are common contributors, and often coexist. In this case, we report five contributors to cardiac arrest.

Case presentation

This case is of a 51-year-old Caucasian female patient who presented with vomiting associated with hypokalemia and hypomagnesemia. She subsequently received ondansetron and metoclopramide, on the background of chronic treatment with fluoxetine. She then suffered an in-hospital monitored cardiac arrest, with features of long QT and torsades de pointes retrospectively noted on her prearrest electrocardiogram. She was diagnosed with acquired long QT syndrome, and her QT interval later normalized after removal of offending causes.

Conclusions

This case highlights the importance of proper consideration prior to prescribing QT prolonging medications, especially in patients who have other risk factors for prolonged QT, such as electrolyte disturbances and pretreatment with QT prolonging medications.

Performance evaluation of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators with SmartShock technology in patients with inherited arrhythmogenic diseases

BACKGROUND

Patients with inherited arrhythmogenic diseases (IADs) are often prescribed preventative implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) to manage their increased sudden cardiac arrest risk. However, it has been suggested that ICDs in IAD patients may come with additional risk. We aimed to leverage the PainFree SmartShock Technology dataset to compare inappropriate therapies, appropriate therapies, mortality, and complications in patients with and without IAD.

METHODS

This retrospective analysis included extracted, physician-adjudicated, arrhythmic episodes from ICD devices. The incidence of arrhythmic events was estimated with the Kaplan-Meier method using the log-rank test. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) with their 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

RESULTS

Of the 1699 ICD patients, 77 patients (4.5%) had IAD. Incidence of inappropriate shock was similar in both patients with (3.2% at 24 months) and without (3.8% at 24 months) IAD (HR: 0.80, CI: 0.19-3.30, p = 0.76). In a multivariable analysis IAD was not significantly associated with reduced mortality (HR: 0.64, CI: 0.08-4.80, p = 0.66). The rates of complications were numerically lower in patients with IAD vs without (8.8% vs 9.6% at 24 months respectively), but not statistically significant (HR: 0.83, CI: 0.20-3.38, p = 0.79).

CONCLUSIONS

IAD patients showed a very low annual rate of inappropriate therapy. This suggests that newer algorithms, such as the SST algorithm, are equally good at identifying and treating life-threatening arrhythmias in patients regardless of whether they have IAD.

Cases in Precision Medicine: Genetic Assessment After a Sudden Cardiac Death in the Family

Sudden death in a family is associated with serious anxiety among family members. Assessing the cause of death may help determine the risk for other family members, thus alleviating some anxiety. In some cases, the cause of death may be evident on autopsy; however, in cases of arrhythmias, standard autopsy will not reveal the cause of death. Evaluation of the circumstances of death, medical history of the deceased, and results of genetic testing may reveal a diagnosis. Once a diagnosis is made, relatives should receive genetic testing and clinical assessment to stratify their risk. Depending on their risk, various interventions are available, including medication, defibrillators, and lifestyle modifications.

Citalopram and the KCNE1 D85N variant: a case report on the implications of a genetic modifier

Background

Prolongation of the QT interval on the electrocardiogram is clinically important due to the association with an increased risk of sudden cardiac death. A long QT interval may be genetically determined (congenital long QT syndrome) or be drug-induced long QT syndrome e.g. caused by pharmaceutical drugs and electrolyte imbalances.

Case summary

In this report, we describe the case a 54-year-old woman, who presented with syncope. At presentation, the QTc interval was markedly prolonged, and she was admitted for observation under telemetry. The following day the patient had experienced a near syncope during an episode of 18 s of Torsade de Pointes (TdP). At the time of TdP, the potassium level (3.4 mmol/L) was mildly reduced, and the ECG showed a QTc interval of 640 ms. In spite of correction of hypokalaemia and discontinuation of the possibly LQTS-inducing drug citalopram the QTc duration remained intermittently prolonged. A transthoracic echocardiogram and a recent coronary angiogram were normal. The patient received an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator. Subsequent genetic testing identified a heterozygous KCNE1 p.D85N (c.253G>A) variant, a known QT modifier with a population prevalence of 1.3%.

Discussion

We conclude that the combination of a commonly prescribed antidepressant, discrete hypokalaemia, and a common KCNE1 QT modifier may cause severe QTc prolongation and life-threatening arrhythmia.

Long QT Syndrome: A Comprehensive Review of the Literature and Current Evidence

Long QT syndrome (LQT) represents a heterogeneous family of cardiac electrophysiologic disorders characterized by QT prolongation and T-wave abnormalities on the electrocardiogram. It is commonly associated with syncope, however, sudden cardiac death can occur due to torsades de pointes. LQT is a clinical diagnosis and should be suspected in individuals on the basis of clinical presentation, family history and ECG characteristics. Management is focused on the prevention of syncope and ultimately sudden death. Complete cessation of symptoms is the goal. Life-style modification, beta blockers and ICD implantation are the most important therapeutic modalities in proper management of patients with LQT. Awareness should be raised regarding possible circumstances that could increase the risk of QT prolongation. Advanced age, hypokalemia, a history of heart failure, and structural heart disease are often mentioned in this context. Prudent consideration is needed before making a decision to recommend an ICD implantation in a young, active patient. Medical and/or device therapy still represent important therapeutic modalities in the management of patients with LQT with careful clinical judgement for the substrate of patients who will benefit. Insights from benchside to bedside have facilitated progress toward better therapeutic strategies, there also remains a need for tailoring management toward individuals in a mechanism-specific manner to optimize care. In addition, continued progress toward fundamental understanding of mechanisms of ion channel function and drug-channel interaction will guide the development of more effective, mechanism-based molecular agents in the treatment of LQT.

Management of Patients with Long QT Syndrome

Long QT syndrome (LQTS) is a rare cardiac channelopathy associated with syncope and sudden death due to torsades de pointes and ventricular fibrillation. Syncope and sudden death are frequently associated with physical and emotional stress. Management of patients with LQTS consists of life-style modification, β-blockers, left cardiac sympathetic denervation (LCSD), and implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) implantation. Prohibition of competitive exercise and avoidance of QT-prolonging drugs are important issues in life-style modification. Although β-blockers are the primary treatment modality for patients with LQTS, these drugs are not completely effective in some patients. Lifelong ICD implantation in young and active patients is associated with significant complications. LCSD is a relatively simple and highly effective surgical procedure. However, LCSD is rarely used.

Is There a Role for Genetics in the Prevention of Sudden Cardiac Death?

The identification of patients at risk for sudden cardiac death (SCD) is fundamental for both acquired cardiovascular diseases (such as coronary artery diseases, CAD) and inherited arrhythmia syndromes (such as the long-QT syndrome, LQTS). Genetics may play a role in both situations, although the potential to exploit this information to reduce the burden of SCD varies among these two groups. Concerning acquired cardiovascular diseases, which affect most of the general population, preliminary data suggest an association between genetics and the risk of dying suddenly. The maximal utility, instead, is reached in inherited arrhythmia syndromes, where the discovery of monogenic diseases such as LQTS tracked the way for the first genotype-phenotype correlations. The aim of this review is to provide a general overview focusing on the current genetic knowledge and on the present and future applicability for prevention in these two populations at risk for SCD.

Ion Channel Diseases: an Update for 2016

OPINION STATEMENT

Ion channelopathies are a frequent cause of sudden cardiac death (SCD) in patients with structurally normal hearts. These are generally Mendelian inherited electrical disorders with variable penetrance and expressivity. The ability to predict the development of life threatening arrhythmias in these patients is challenging. This chapter will present an update on the genetics, the role of genetic testing, and management of the inherited cardiac channelopathies with a focus on the relatively more common syndromes associated with an increased risk of SCD.

Long QT Syndrome: An Emerging Role for Inflammation and Immunity

The long QT syndrome (LQTS), classified as congenital or acquired, is a multi-factorial disorder of myocardial repolarization predisposing to life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias, particularly torsades de pointes. In the latest years, inflammation and immunity have been increasingly recognized as novel factors crucially involved in modulating ventricular repolarization. In the present paper, we critically review the available information on this topic, also analyzing putative mechanisms and potential interplays with the other etiologic factors, either acquired or inherited. Accumulating data indicate inflammatory activation as a potential cause of acquired LQTS. The putative underlying mechanisms are complex but essentially cytokine-mediated, including both direct actions on cardiomyocyte ion channels expression and function, and indirect effects resulting from an increased central nervous system sympathetic drive on the heart. Autoimmunity represents another recently arising cause of acquired LQTS. Indeed, increasing evidence demonstrates that autoantibodies may affect myocardial electric properties by directly cross-reacting with the cardiomyocyte and interfering with specific ion currents as a result of molecular mimicry mechanisms. Intriguingly, recent data suggest that inflammation and immunity may be also involved in modulating the clinical expression of congenital forms of LQTS, possibly triggering or enhancing electrical instability in patients who already are genetically predisposed to arrhythmias. In this view, targeting immuno-inflammatory pathways may in the future represent an attractive therapeutic approach in a number of LQTS patients, thus opening new exciting avenues in antiarrhythmic therapy.

Synchronous systolic subcellular Ca2+-elevations underlie ventricular arrhythmia in drug-induced long QT type 2

BACKGROUND

Repolarization delay is a common clinical problem, which can promote ventricular arrhythmias. In myocytes, abnormal sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+)-release is proposed as the mechanism that causes early afterdepolarizations, the cellular equivalent of ectopic-activity in drug-induced long-QT syndrome. A crucial missing link is how such a stochastic process can overcome the source-sink mismatch to depolarize sufficient ventricular tissue to initiate arrhythmias.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Optical maps of action potentials and Ca(2+)-transients from Langendorff rabbit hearts were measured at low (150×150 μm(2)/pixel) and high (1.5×1.5 μm(2)/pixel) resolution before and during arrhythmias. Drug-induced long QT type 2, elicited with dofetilide inhibition of IKr (the rapid component of rectifying K+ current), produced spontaneous Ca(2+)-elevations during diastole and systole, before the onset of arrhythmias. Diastolic Ca(2+-)waves appeared randomly, propagated within individual myocytes, were out-of-phase with adjacent myocytes, and often died-out. Systolic secondary Ca(2+-)elevations were synchronous within individual myocytes, appeared 188±30 ms after the action potential-upstroke, occurred during high cytosolic Ca(2+) (40%-60% of peak-Ca(2+)-transients), appeared first in small islands (0.5×0.5 mm(2)) that enlarged and spread throughout the epicardium. Synchronous systolic Ca(2+-)elevations preceded voltage-depolarizations (9.2±5 ms; n=5) and produced pronounced Spatial Heterogeneities of Ca(2+)-transient-durations and action potential-durations. Early afterdepolarizations originating from sites with the steepest gradients of membrane-potential propagated and initiated arrhythmias. Interestingly, more complex subcellular Ca(2+)-dynamics (multiple chaotic Ca(2+)-waves) occurred during arrhythmias. K201, a ryanodine receptor stabilizer, eliminated Ca(2+)-elevations and arrhythmias.

CONCLUSIONS

The results indicate that systolic and diastolic Ca(2+)-elevations emanate from sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+)-release and systolic Ca(2+)-elevations are synchronous because of high cytosolic and luminal-sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+), which overcomes source-sink mismatch to trigger arrhythmias in intact hearts.

Torsades de pointes following clarithromycin treatment

A 75-year-old woman presenting with pre-syncope, shortness of breath and nausea was admitted to the emergency department following treatment with clarithromycin. Shortly after admission she developed a prolonged QT interval leading to torsades de pointes (TdP) and cardiac arrest. She was successfully cardioverted and clarithromycin was discontinued resulting in restoration of her usual QT interval. This case is an example of acquired long QT syndrome; a disorder that can be precipitated by macrolide antibiotics such as clarithromycin. Additional risk factors present in this case include: female gender, old age, heart disease, hypokalemia and hypomagnesemia. In this manuscript we comprehensively review past cases of clarithromycin-induced long QT syndrome (LQTS) and discuss them within the context of this case.