Inherited arrhythmogenic syndromes comprise a heterogenic group of genetic entities that lead to malignant arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death. Genetic testing has become crucial to understand the disease etiology and allow for the early identification of relatives at risk; however, it requires an accurate interpretation of the data to achieve a clinically actionable outcome. This is particularly challenging for the large number of rare variants obtained by current high-throughput techniques, which are mostly classified as of unknown significance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Although genetic variants in are the most frequent cause of pediatric genetic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), there are no studies available describing this entity. We sought to describe clinical features, analyze variant location, and explore predictors of bad prognosis in pediatric -related DCM.
Methods And Results: We evaluated clinical records from 44 patients (24 men; median age at diagnosis, 0.
Introduction And Objectives: We report the results of the 2023 Spanish catheter ablation registry.
Methods: Procedural data were collected and incorporated into the REDCap platform by all participating centers through a specific form.
Results: There were 104 participating centers in 2023 compared with 103 in 2022.
Arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy is an inherited entity characterized by irregular cell-cell adhesion, cardiomyocyte death and fibro-fatty replacement of ventricular myocytes, leading to malignant ventricular arrythmias, contractile dysfunction and sudden cardiac death. Pathogenic variants in genes that encode desmosome are the predominant cause of arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy. Moreover, signalling pathways such as Wnt/ß-catenin and transforming growth factor-β have been involved in the disease progression.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Young (<18 years of age) patients with Brugada syndrome (BrS) are often under-represented in BrS studies and their management, especially related to syncopal episodes, remains unclear.
Objectives: This study sought to describe the arrhythmia prevalence among young patients with BrS undergoing continuous rhythm monitoring by implantable loop recorder (ILR) and to assess the etiology behind syncope of undetermined origin.
Methods: A total of 147 patients with BrS with ILR were enrolled in 12 international centers and divided into pediatric (age <12 years; n = 77, 52%) and adolescents (age 13-18 years; n = 70, 48%).
Pathogenic variants in have been associated with a wide spectrum of muscular conditions: the laminopathies. -related congenital muscular dystrophy is a laminopathy characterised by the early onset of symptoms and often leads to a fatal outcome at young ages. Children face a heightened risk of malignant arrhythmias.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHeart Rhythm
October 2024
Background: Catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT) may cause sudden cardiac death (SCD) despite medical therapy. Therefore, implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) are commonly advised. However, there is limited data on the outcomes of ICD use in children.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCirc Arrhythm Electrophysiol
January 2024
Although there is consensus on the management of patients with Brugada Syndrome with high risk for sudden cardiac arrest, asymptomatic or intermediate-risk patients present clinical management challenges. This document explores the management opinions of experts throughout the world for patients with Brugada Syndrome who do not fit guideline recommendations. Four real-world clinical scenarios were presented with commentary from small expert groups for each case.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Brugada syndrome (BrS) is an inherited cardiac arrhythmogenic disease that predisposes patients to sudden cardiac death. It is associated with mutations in SCN5A, which encodes the cardiac sodium channel alpha subunit (Na1.5).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTakotsubo syndrome (TTS) is a cardiac syndrome characterized by transient left ventricular systolic dysfunction in the absence of significant obstructive coronary artery disease. At the autopsy, its diagnosis is often challenging, since it is generally thought that it relates to no characteristic macroscopic or microscopic findings. In order to verify this last statement, we performed a systematic review of the literature following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Statement (PRISMA) criteria.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy is a rare inherited entity, characterized by a progressive fibro-fatty replacement of the myocardium. It leads to malignant arrhythmias and a high risk of sudden cardiac death. Incomplete penetrance and variable expressivity are hallmarks of this arrhythmogenic cardiac disease, where the first manifestation may be syncope and sudden cardiac death, often triggered by physical exercise.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSudden cardiac death is the most common mode of death during childhood and adolescence in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and identifying those individuals at highest risk is a major aspect of clinical care. The mainstay of preventative therapy is the implantable cardioverter-defibrillator, which has been shown to be effective at terminating malignant ventricular arrhythmias in children with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy but can be associated with substantial morbidity. Accurate identification of those children at highest risk who would benefit most from implantable cardioverter-defibrillator implantation while minimising the risk of complications is, therefore, essential.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Cardiovasc Med
April 2023
Long QT Syndrome (LQTS) is a rare, inherited channelopathy characterized by cardiac repolarization dysfunction, leading to a prolonged rate-corrected QT interval in patients who are at risk for malignant ventricular tachyarrhythmias, syncope, and even sudden cardiac death. A complex genetic origin, variable expressivity as well as incomplete penetrance make the diagnosis a clinical challenge. In the last 10 years, there has been a continuous improvement in diagnostic and personalized treatment options.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLaminopathies are caused by rare alterations in , leading to a wide clinical spectrum. Though muscular dystrophy begins at early ages, disease progression is different in each patient. We investigated variability in laminopathy phenotypes by performing a targeted genetic analysis of patients diagnosed with -related muscular dystrophy to identify rare variants in alternative genes, thereby explaining phenotypic differences.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCirc Genom Precis Med
April 2023
Rapid advances in genetic technologies have led to expanding use of diagnostic, research, and direct-to-consumer exome and genome sequencing. Incidentally identified variants from this sequencing represent a significant and growing challenge to interpret and translate into clinical care and include variants in genes associated with heritable cardiovascular disease such as cardiac ion channelopathies, cardiomyopathies, thoracic aortic disease, dyslipidemias, and congenital/structural heart disease. These variants need to be properly reported, the risk of associated disease accurately assessed, and clinical management implemented to prevent or lessen the disease so that cardiovascular genomic medicine can become both predictive and preventive.
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