Ma. Shkolnikova et al., HIGH-RESOLUTION ELECTROCARDIOGRAPHY IN CH ILDREN WITH VENTRICULAR TACHYCARDIAS AND ROMANO-WARD-SYNDROME, Kardiologia, 37(3), 1997, pp. 37-41
Twenty three patients (mean age 11+/-4 years) with severe cardiac rhyt
hm disturbances (11 with attacks of idiopathic ventricular tachycardia
and 12 with Romano-Ward long QT syndrome) were studied. High resoluti
on electrocardiography was one of methods of a complex investigation.
It was shown that for conventionally healthy children some characteris
tics of averaged ECG signal were age-dependent. Basing on these data a
nd on parameters of high-resolution ECG in patients with ventricular t
achycardia criteria of left ventricular late potentials for children i
ncluded in the study were elaborated. According to these criteria late
ventricular potentials were present in 7 patients (70%) with ventricu
lar tachycardia and in 8 patients (67%) with Romano-Ward syndrome. Sen
sitivity of the method was 64% in patients with ventricular tachycardi
a and 66% in patients with Romano-Ward syndrome. Specificity was 92% i
n both groups. Comparison of patients with healthy children demonstrat
ed high informative power of presence of ventricular late potentials f
or prediction of risk of development of life threatening arrhythmia (8
5,4 and 85,7% in patients with ventricular tachycardia and Romano-Ward
syndrome, respectively). The study showed that high resolution electr
ocardiography should be used for detection of children with high risk
of life threatening arrhythmia for instance in complex study of childr
en with syncope of unknown origin. Further accumulation of date and in
vestigation of relationship of parameters of high resolution ECG with
severity of rhythm disturbances as well as determination of normal cha
racteristics of high resolution ECG in children is necessary.