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on August 18, 2003

Circulation. 2003
Published online before print August 18, 2003, doi: 10.1161/01.CIR.0000085071.28695.C4
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Submitted on March 17, 2003
Revised on June 2, 2003
Accepted on June 3, 2003

Short QT Syndrome. A Familial Cause of Sudden Death

Fiorenzo Gaita MD*, Carla Giustetto MD, Francesca Bianchi MD, Christian Wolpert MD, Rainer Schimpf MD, Riccardo Riccardi MD, Stefano Grossi MD, Elena Richiardi MD, and Martin Borggrefe MD

From the Division of Cardiology (F.G., C.G., F.B., R.R., S.G., E.R.), Ospedale Mauriziano Umberto I, Torino, Italy; and the 1st Department of Medicine (C.W., R.S., M.B.), University Hospital Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: gaitaf{at}libero.it.

Background--A prolonged QT interval is associated with a risk for life-threatening events. However, little is known about prognostic implications of the reverse--a short QT interval. Several members of 2 different families were referred for syncope, palpitations, and resuscitated cardiac arrest in the presence of a positive family history for sudden cardiac death. Autopsy did not reveal any structural heart disease. All patients had a constantly and uniformly short QT interval at ECG.

Methods and Results--Six patients from both families were submitted to extensive noninvasive and invasive work-up, including serial resting ECGs, echocardiogram, cardiac MRI, exercise testing, Holter ECG, and signal-averaged ECG. Four of 6 patients underwent electrophysiological evaluation including programmed ventricular stimulation. In all subjects, a structural heart disease was excluded. At baseline ECG, all patients exhibited a QT interval <=280 ms (QTc <=300 ms). During electrophysiological study, short atrial and ventricular refractory periods were documented in all and increased ventricular vulnerability to fibrillation in 3 of 4 patients.

Conclusions--The short QT syndrome is characterized by familial sudden death, short refractory periods, and inducible ventricular fibrillation. It is important to recognize this ECG pattern because it is related to a high risk of sudden death in young, otherwise healthy subjects.


Key words: short QT interval • death, sudden • fibrillation




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