Abstract
This thesis focused on the clinical characteristics of patients with an initial diagnosis of idiopathic ventricular fibrillation (IVF). We showed that long-term follow-up of patients with IVF is extremely important, as 21% of patients develop an underlying disease. Therefore, thorough investigation with repeated ECG, exercise-ECG, and echocardiography during follow-up is necessary. Genetic testing should also be performed, because the yield in patients initially diagnosed with IVF is 15%. Extended genetic testing of a large gene panel is not routinely recommended, because the added yield is only 3%. The recurrence of ventricular arrhythmias is high with 30%, therefore ICD implantation is justified. Furthermore, the impact of IVF on the health-related quality of life seems serious, as IVF patients report an impaired mental health-related quality of life compared to patients who experienced a cardiac arrest but were diagnosed with an underlying disease. Last, in a large national cohort of 166 IVF patients, we identified four predictors for recurrence of ventricular arrhythmias: The presence of an ERP, a higher resting heart rate and a longer PR interval on the 12-leads ECG and a positive family history of SCD.
Original language | English |
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Award date | 15 Jun 2017 |
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Print ISBNs | 978-90-393-6772-8 |
Publication status | Published - 15 Jun 2017 |
Keywords
- Idiopathic ventricular fibrillation
- long-term follow-up
- genetic testing