Ethnicity and Arrhythmia Susceptibility

摘要

Cardiac arrest accounts for a significant number of cardiovascular deaths worldwide. In the United States alone, more than 400,000 people experience sudden cardiac death each year. Recent data suggest that coronary artery disease accounts for approximately 80% of sudden cardiac deaths.A subgroup of patients with structurally normal hearts and a predisposition to ventricular fibrillation (VF) was described by Josep and Pedro Brugada in 1992. The syndrome is characterized by syncope, VF, sudden death, and an ECG pattern of apparent right bundle-branch block and ST segment elevation in leads VI-V3. The ST segment elevation may be precipitated or exaggerated in patients with the latent defect by class 1A or 1C anti-arrhythmic drugs