Automatic identification of a stable QRST complex for non-invasive evaluation of human cardiac electrophysiology.

BACKGROUND: A vectorcardiography approach to electrocardiology contributes to the non-invasive assessment of electrical heterogeneity in the ventricles of the heart and to risk stratification for cardiac events including sudden cardiac death. The aim of this study was to develop an automatic method that identifies a representative QRST complex (QRSonset to Tend) from a Frank vectorcardiogram (VCG). This method should provide reliable measurements of morphological VCG parameters and signal when such measurements required manual scrutiny. METHODS: Frank VCG was recorded in a population-based sample of 1094 participants (550 women) 50-65 years old as part of the Swedish CArdioPulmonary bioImage Study (SCAPIS) pilot. Standardized supine rest allowing heart rate stabilization and adaptation of ventricular repolarization preceded a recording period lasting ≥5 minutes. In the Frank VCG a recording segment during steady-state conditions and with good signal quality was selected based on QRST variability. In this segment a representative signal-averaged QRST complex from cardiac cycles during 10s was selected. Twenty-eight morphological parameters were calculated including both conventional conduction intervals and VCG-derived parameters. The reliability and reproducibility of these parameters were evaluated when using completely automatic and automatic but manually edited annotation points. RESULTS: In 1080 participants (98.7%) our automatic method reliably selected a representative QRST complex where its instability measure effectively identified signal variability due to both external disturbances ("noise") and physiologic and pathophysiologic variability, such as e.g. sinus arrhythmia and atrial fibrillation. There were significant sex-related differences in 24 of 28 VCG parameters. Some VCG parameters were insensitive to the instability value, while others were moderately sensitive. CONCLUSION: We developed an automatic process for identification of a signal-averaged QRST complex suitable for morphologic measurements which worked reliably in 99% of participants. This process is applicable for all non-invasive analyses of cardiac electrophysiology including risk stratification for cardiac death based on such measurements.

Spatial peak and mean QRS-T angles: A comparison of similar but different emerging risk factors for cardiac death.

BACKGROUND: The spatial peak and mean QRS-T angles are scientifically but not clinically established risk factors for cardiovascular events including cardiac death. The study aims were to compare these angles, assess their association with hypertension (HT) and diabetes mellitus (DM), and explore the relation between the mean QRS-T angle and the ventricular gradient (VG; reflecting electrical heterogeneity), which both are derived from the QRSarea and Tarea vectors. METHODS: Altogether 1094 participants (aged 50-65 years, 550 women) from the pilot of the population-based Swedish CArdioPulmonary bioImage Study with Frank vectorcardiographic recordings were included and divided into 5 subgroups: apparently healthy n = 320; HT n = 311; DM n = 33; DM + HT n = 53; miscellaneous conditions n = 377. Abnormal peak and mean QRS-T angles were defined as >95th percentile. RESULTS: Peak QRS-T angles were generally narrower than the mean QRS-T angles; both were narrower in women than in men. Abnormal peak (>124°) and/or mean (>119°) QRS-T angles were found in 73 participants (6.7%). The concordance regarding abnormal versus normal-borderline QRS-T angles was good (Cohen's kappa 0.61). The prevalence of abnormal angles varied from 2.5% in healthy to 21.2% in DM. There was an inverse logarithmical relation between the mean QRS-T angle and the VG. CONCLUSIONS: The peak and mean QRS-T angles are not interchangeable but complementary. DM, HT, sex and absence of disease are important determinants of both QRS-T angles. The mean QRS-T angle and the VG relationship is complex. All three VCG derived measures reflect related but differing electrophysiological properties and have potential prognostic value vis-à-vis cardiovascular events.

Ventricular repolarization duration and dispersion adaptation after atropine induced rapid heart rate increase in healthy adults.

BACKGROUND: Proper adaptation of ventricular repolarization (VR) to rapid heart rate (HR) increase is crucial for cardiac electro-mechanical function. The pattern and temporal aspects of this adaptation and its components (duration and dispersion) during normal conduction are, however, incompletely known in humans and were the topic of this study. METHODS & RESULTS: The VR duration (QT & QTpeak) and dispersion (Tamplitude, Tarea & ventricular gradient; VG) responses were studied by continuous vectorcardiogram after a bolus injection of atropine 0.04mg/kg b.w. in 31 healthy young adults (16 men). The primary measure (T90 End) was the time to reach 90% change from baseline to end value 300s later. Mean (SD) of T90 End was 23 (9) s for a 41% RR decrease, 130 (35) s for a 16% QTend decrease and 110 (36) s for a 19% QTpeak decrease; the response was single-exponential for these measures. For 35-43% decreases of Tamplitude, Tarea & VG, mean (SD) of T90 End were 21 (10), 38 (20) and 40 (23) s and the response pattern was double-exponential with varying overshoot. CONCLUSIONS: VR duration and dispersion responses to a very rapid HR increase during normal conduction differed substantially. In contrast to the well-known single-exponential delay in VR duration adaptation the responses of VR dispersion measures were double-exponential and much more rapid. We describe a new and completely non-invasive phenotypic characterization of different components of VR adaptation.

Instability of repolarization in LQTS mutation carriers compared to healthy control subjects assessed by vectorcardiography.

BACKGROUND: Potassium channel dysfunction in congenital and acquired forms of long QT syndrome types 1 and 2 (LQT1 and LQT2) increases the beat-to-beat variability of the QT interval. OBJECTIVE: To study about the little known variability (instability) of other aspects of ventricular repolarization (VR) in humans by using vectorcardiography. METHODS: Beat-to-beat analysis was performed regarding vectorcardiography derived RR, QRS, and QT intervals, as well as T vector- and T vector loop-based parameters during 1-minute recordings of uninterrupted sinus rhythm at rest in 41 adult LQT1 (n = 31) and LQT2 (n = 10) mutation carriers and 41 age- and sex-matched control subjects. The short-term variability for each parameter, describing the mean orthogonal distance to the line of identity on the Poincaré plot, was calculated. RESULTS: Mutation carriers showed significantly larger (by a factor 2) instability in most VR parameters compared to controls despite higher instantaneous heart rate variability (STVRR) in the control group. The longer the QT interval, the greater was its instability, and the instability of VR dispersion measures. CONCLUSIONS: A greater instability of most aspects of VR already at rest seems to be a salient feature in both LQT1 and LQT2, which might pave the way for early afterdepolarizations and torsades de pointes ventricular tachycardia. In contrast, no signs of increased VR dispersion per se were observed in mutation carriers.