The 12-lead electrocardiogram remains an important tool for assessing sudden cardiac death risk, though further research is needed before novel depolarization and repolarization markers can be used clinically.
The 12-lead ECG remains a broadly available and inexpensive tool with potential for predicting sudden cardiac death risk, though further research is needed to validate specific markers for clinical use.
More than 100 years after it was first invented, the 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) continues to occupy an important place in the diagnostic armamentarium of the practicing clinician. With the recognition of relatively rare but important clinical entities such as Wolff-Parkinson-White and the long QT syndrome, this clinical tool was firmly established as a test for assessing risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD). However, over the past two decades the role of the ECG in risk prediction for common forms of SCD, for example in patients with coronary artery disease, has been the focus of considerable investigation. Especially in light of the limitations of current risk stratification approaches, there is a renewed focus on this broadly available and relatively inexpensive test. Various abnormalities of depolarization and repolarization on the ECG have been linked to SCD risk; however, more focused work is needed before they can be deployed in the clinical arena. The present review summarizes the current knowledge on various ECG risk markers for prediction of SCD and discusses some future directions in this field.
Narayanan et al. (Thu,) conducted a review in Sudden cardiac death. 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) was evaluated. The 12-lead electrocardiogram remains an important tool for assessing sudden cardiac death risk, though further research is needed before novel depolarization and repolarization markers can be used clinically.