Early repolarization pattern and risk for arrhythmia death: a meta-analysis.

Objectives: A meta-analysis was performed to determine the risk and incidence rate of arrhythmia death, cardiac death, and all-cause death in the general population with the early repolarization pattern (ERP).

Background: The ERP has recently been associated with vulnerability to ventricular fibrillation in case-control studies. However, the prognostic significance of the ERP in the general population is controversial.

Methods: Relevant studies published through July 31, 2012, were searched and identified in the MEDLINE and Embase databases. Studies that reported risk ratio estimates with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the associations of interest were included. Data were extracted, and summary estimates of association were obtained using a random-effects model.

Results: Of the 9 studies included, 3 studies reported on arrhythmia death (31,981 subjects, 1,108 incident cases during 726,741 person-years of follow-up), 6 studies reported on cardiac death (126,583 subjects, 10,010 incident cases during 2,054,674 person-years of follow-up), and 6 studies reported on all-cause death (112,443 subjects, 22,165 incident cases during 2,089,535 person-years of follow-up). The risk ratios of the ERP were 1.70 (95% CI: 1.19 to 2.42; p = 0.003) for arrhythmia death, 0.78 (95% CI: 0.27 to 2.25; p = 0.63) for cardiac death, and 1.06 (95% CI: 0.87 to 1.28; p = 0.57) for all-cause death. The estimated absolute risk differences of subjects with the ERP were 70 cases of arrhythmia death per 100,000 subjects per year. J-point elevation ≥ 0.1 mV in the inferior leads and notching configuration had an increased risk for arrhythmia death in subgroup studies.

Conclusions: The ERP was associated with increased risk and a low to intermediate absolute incidence rate of arrhythmia death. Further study is needed to clarify which subgroups of subjects with the ERP are at higher risk for arrhythmia death.