The 10-Year Prognosis and Prevalence of Brugada-Type Electrocardiograms in Elderly Women: A Longitudinal Nationwide Community-Based Prospective Study.
Sherri Shih-Fan Yeh, Ching-Yu Julius Chen, I-Chien Wu and 11 others
PMID 32609463WHAT IT FOUND
Brugada-type ECG patterns in 2,597 older Taiwanese women were not followed by more heart deaths over 10 years: none of the 60 with the pattern died of heart causes, and all-cause deaths were 15% versus 11%.
Key findings
01Brugada-type ECG patterns were present in 60 of 2597 women, a prevalence of 2.310%; among them, 1 had type 1, 15 had type 2, and 44 had type 3.
02During mean follow-up of 96.1 ± 20.5 months, 9 women with a Brugada pattern died, none from cardiovascular causes, and mortality curves did not differ from women without the pattern.
03Women with a Brugada pattern had lower body weight (51.5 ± 7.8 kg versus 57.6 ± 9.4 kg) and lower body mass index (21.8 ± 3.0 versus 24.6 ± 3.6 kg/m2) than women without it.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Only women aged 55 or older were studied, so the results do not show what happens in younger women or men. Because higher-risk women may have died before enrollment, the cohort could miss people who would have had events. Only three baseline ECGs were used, and Brugada patterns can fluctuate, so some patterns may have been missed. Family history of sudden cardiac death and personal syncope were not available, so it is unclear whether the women were truly asymptomatic. Only 60 women had a Brugada pattern, and only 1 had type 1, so the mortality result for the pattern rests on a small number. The study was done in community-dwelling older women in Taiwan, so it may not apply to other populations or to people already very sick.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The paper is listed as research supported by non-U.S. government sources.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that Brugada-type ECG patterns are harmless in women. The study only enrolled women aged 55 or older who were alive and able to take part, found the pattern in only 60 women, and did not know family history of sudden cardiac death or syncope; type 2 and type 3 patterns are still considered suspicious and need cardiology assessment.