Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2016 Jan 26;8(1):57-73.
doi: 10.4330/wjc.v8.i1.57.

Ventricular repolarization measures for arrhythmic risk stratification

Francesco Monitillo  1 , Marta Leone  1 , Caterina Rizzo  1 , Andrea Passantino  1 , Massimo Iacoviello  1
Affiliations
Review

Ventricular repolarization measures for arrhythmic risk stratification

Francesco Monitillo et al. World J Cardiol. .

Abstract

Ventricular repolarization is a complex electrical phenomenon which represents a crucial stage in electrical cardiac activity. It is expressed on the surface electrocardiogram by the interval between the start of the QRS complex and the end of the T wave or U wave (QT). Several physiological, pathological and iatrogenic factors can influence ventricular repolarization. It has been demonstrated that small perturbations in this process can be a potential trigger of malignant arrhythmias, therefore the analysis of ventricular repolarization represents an interesting tool to implement risk stratification of arrhythmic events in different clinical settings. The aim of this review is to critically revise the traditional methods of static analysis of ventricular repolarization as well as those for dynamic evaluation, their prognostic significance and the possible application in daily clinical practice.

Keywords: Arrhythmias; Cardiovascular diseases; Drugs; QT interval; Ventricular repolarization.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Structural and functional cardiac abnormalities and interaction with the other factors are able to induce non-homogenic refractoriness and abnormalities in ventricular repolarization leading to QT interval prolongation.
Figure 2
Figure 2
QT dynamicity analysis is based on automatic measurement of QT interval (QT apex and QT end) during 24 h electrocardiogram monitoring. The relationship between these measures and the corresponding RR intervals allows a slope of regression analysis to be obtained. A steeper slope reflects a wider QT variability suggesting abnormalities in ventricular repolarization.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Yan GX, Lankipalli RS, Burke JF, Musco S, Kowey PR. Ventricular repolarization components on the electrocardiogram: cellular basis and clinical significance. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2003;42:401–409. - PubMed
    1. Van damr D. The t wave and ventricular repolarization. Am J Cardiol. 1964;14:294–300. - PubMed
    1. Franz MR, Bargheer K, Rafflenbeul W, Haverich A, Lichtlen PR. Monophasic action potential mapping in human subjects with normal electrocardiograms: direct evidence for the genesis of the T wave. Circulation. 1987;75:379–386. - PubMed
    1. Zareba W, Moss AJ, le Cessie S. Dispersion of ventricular repolarization and arrhythmic cardiac death in coronary artery disease. Am J Cardiol. 1994;74:550–553. - PubMed
    1. Ikeda T, Sakata T, Takami M, Kondo N, Tezuka N, Nakae T, Noro M, Enjoji Y, Abe R, Sugi K, et al. Combined assessment of T-wave alternans and late potentials used to predict arrhythmic events after myocardial infarction. A prospective study. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2000;35:722–730. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources