Fragmented QRS in the relatives of patients with coronary artery disease

BACKGROUND: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is one of the important causes of mortality. It has been emphasized that the risk of CAD may be increased in the relatives of CAD patients. Fragmented QRS (fQRS) is an electrocardiography (ECG) marker showing myocardial damage. METHODS: A study group of 62 symptomatic individuals (31 males, mean age 38.5 ± 7.12 years) with first-degree relatives with coronary artery disease and 64 healthy volunteers (24 males, mean age 37.9 ± 11.6 years) were included in this study. The study did not include those with known cardiac disease, metabolic disease, or drug use that may cause a change in ECG parameters. RESULTS: There was no significant difference between the groups regarding gender, heart rate, QRS complex, QTc, frontal QRS-T angle, and left ventricle ejection fraction. Compared to the control group, the QT interval and fQRS count were significantly higher in the study group (p < .05 for both). Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), hemoglobin, and neutrophil counts were significantly higher in the study group compared to the control group (p < .05 for all). CONCLUSIONS: Our study showed that fQRS was increased in individuals with symptomatic first-degree relatives with coronary artery disease compared to healthy volunteers.