Europace Advance Access originally published online on August 4, 2009
Europace 2009 11(10):1338-1344; doi:10.1093/europace/eup205
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Sudden Cardiac Death Syndrome
Spontaneous Brugada electrocardiogram patterns are rare in the German general population: results from the KORA study
1 Department of Medicine I, University Hospital Munich, Campus Grosshadern, Munich, Germany; 2 Institute of Human Genetics, TU Munich, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Munich, Germany; 3 Institute of Human Genetics, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Centre for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany; 4 Institute of Biological and Medical Imaging, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Centre for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany; 5 Department of Cardiology and Angiology, University Hospital Münster, Münster, Germany; 6 Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Centre for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
Aims: The Brugada syndrome is a rare, potentially fatal primary cardiomyopathy. Patients are identified by symptoms and typical electrocardiogram (ECG) patterns. Prevalence of spontaneous Brugada ECG patterns in the general population is unknown.
Methods and results: We analysed 12-lead resting ECGs of 4149 men and women aged 25–74 years from the population-based KORA Study. Computer-assisted analysis identified ECGs with J-point elevation in leads V1–V3 and QRS duration 
150 ms. Positive ECGs were re-evaluated independently by expert cardiologists. Computer-assisted analysis identified 250/4149 ECGs, predominantly from male probands (206/250) who were younger (41.0 ± 11.9 vs. 52.1 ± 13.8 years, P < 0.0001) than males without the ECG sign. After expert review, not a single ECG showed a Brugada ECG pattern. A high percentage of ECGs were considered abnormal, the majority (73) showing left-ventricular hypertrophy. Manual analysis of a representative, randomly selected sample of 351 ECGs without computer-assisted pre-analysis revealed not a single Brugada ECG pattern. True Brugada patterns were reliably identified by screening of a control subset of patients.
Conclusion: Spontaneous Brugada ECG patterns are rare in the general population and may hence constitute a relevant biological signal. Computer-aided analysis can help to identify abnormal ECGs.
Key Words: Brugada Syndrome, Electrocardiogram, Computer analysis, General population, Prevalence
* Corresponding author. Tel: +49 89 7095 3158, Fax: +49 89 7095 6076, Email: moritz.sinner{at}med.uni-muenchen.de
These authors equally share senior authorship.
Manuscript submitted 8 April 2009. Accepted after revision 3 July 2009.
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- Brugada syndrome: where are you?
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