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
Case Reports
. 2020 Jun 15;10(2):131-135.
eCollection 2020.

A tricky electrocardiogram: cocaine induced Brugada type 2 phenocopy

Giordano Zampi  1 , Amedeo Pergolini  2 , Daniele Pontillo  3 , Luigi Sommariva  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

A tricky electrocardiogram: cocaine induced Brugada type 2 phenocopy

Giordano Zampi et al. Am J Cardiovasc Dis. .

Abstract

Background: The pharmacological effects of cocaine have been associated with different types of cardiac dysrhythmias and with Brugada pattern on the ECG, but currently only type 1 pattern has been described. We report a case of a transient Brugada type 2 pattern in a young cocaine abuser.

Method: We report the clinical presentation of a 32-year-old male with a history of cocaine abuse.

Result: The treatment and the resolution of the acute phase have been described; moreover we discuss the pathophysiology of the Brugada phenocopy in this specificclinical setting.

Conclusion: The clinical impact of our case report underscores the necessity of prompt physician awareness of any ECG abnormality besides myocardial infarction in patients with cocaine abuse, such as any Brugada pattern, which could lead to ominous ventricular arrhythmias.

Keywords: Brugada; ECG; ECG alterations; cocaine.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

None.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
ECG: sinus rhythm with V1-V3 leads mimicking Brugada type 2 pattern.
Figure 2
Figure 2
ECG after restoration.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Brugada R, Campuzano O, Sarquella-Brugada G, Brugada J, Brugada P. Brugada syndrome. Methodist Debakey Cardiovasc J. 2014;10:25–28. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Alraies MC, Chamsi-Pasha MA, Baibars M, Alraiyes AH, Shaheen K. Brugada pattern electrocardiogram unmasked with cocaine ingestion. Case Rep Cardiol. 2013;2013:704859. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Robertson KE, Martin TN, Rae AP. Brugada-pattern ECG and cardiac arrest in cocaine toxicity: reading between the white lines. Heart. 2010;96:643–644. - PubMed
    1. Daga B, Miñano A, de la Puerta I, Pelegrín J, Rodrigo G, Ferreira I. [Electrocardiographic findings typical of Brugada syndrome unmasked by cocaine consumption] . Rev Esp Cardiol. 2005;58:1355–7. - PubMed
    1. Baranchuk A, Nguyen T, Ryu MH, Femenía F, Zareba W, Wilde AA, Shimizu W, Brugada P, Pérez-Riera AR. Brugadaphenocopy: new terminology and proposed classification. Ann Noninvasive Electrocardiol. 2012;17:299–314. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources