Abnormal QRS duration linked to increased risk of sudden cardiac death, according to research by NYP/Weill Cornell
QRS duration (QRSd) is one of several measures of heart function recorded during a routine electrocardiogram (ECG). It is a composite of waves showing the length of time it takes for an electrical signal to get all the way through the pumping chambers of the heart. Prolonged QRSd is a sign of an abnormal electrical system of the heart and is often found when the heart isn't pumping efficiently.
Now, QRSd has been found to be a significant predictor of sudden cardiac death, as reported by researchers from the Ronald O. Perelman Heart Institute at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center in the Aug. 17 online edition of the European Heart Journal.
"Because an ECG is a routine part of every patient's annual physical exam, physicians can easily track it and take note of any change," says senior author Dr. Peter Okin, professor of medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College and a cardiologist at the Ronald O. Perelman Heart Institute at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. "If QRSd increases, it suggests an increased risk of sudden cardiac death -- and that additional evaluation and treatment may be indicated. What we hope is that physicians will start paying more attention to QRSd as a warning signal. If they do, lives could be saved."
Investigators analyzed data drawn from the LIFE study -- a large, multicenter study of patients with hypertension conducted between 1995 and 2001. Designed to test the comparative effects of two medications on patients' blood pressure and overall cardiovascular health, the LIFE study generated an enormous quantity of data. Much of these were unused in the pursuit of the study's original aims, but they have provided fertile ground for many dozens of researchers, resulting in at least 150 articles published in professional journals since the conclusion of the LIFE study in 2001.
The authors of the new statistical study looked at some of these data as they investigated a possible association between prolonged QRSd and the risk of sudden cardiac death, and they found strong evidence of a link between the two.