Background:Previous studies of long QT syndrome (LQTS) have revealed the presence of country-specific hot spots inKCNQ1mutations, and the purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of a ...common mutation on clinical phenotypes in Japanese LQT1 patients.Methods and Results:We retrospectively studied the frequency of each mutation in 190 LQT1 Japanese probands and evaluated the clinical severity of LQT1 among carriers with a common mutation. We also compared it with that of carriers with other mutations. In the Japanese cohort, the most common mutation was p. A344spl (c.1032 G>A), comprising a substitution of a guanine for an adenine at the last base of exon 7, and it was found in 17 probands (8.9%). Regarding the clinical characteristics of A344spl carriers, the mean age-of-onset was 10±4 years, >40% were symptomatic, and the mean corrected QT interval was 461±30 ms. The prognosis for carriers of the A344spl mutation (n=31) was intermediate between that for the A341V mutation reported to be associated with severe phenotypes (n=24) and other mutations (n=290).Conclusions:The A344spl mutation was a frequent LQTS genotype in Japan, which indicates that the influence of country-specific hot spots should be considered when studying LQT1 clinical phenotypes. (Circ J 2015; 79: 2026–2030)
Background
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a serious hereditary cardiomyopathy. It is characterized morphologically by an increased left ventricular wall thickness and mass and functionally by ...enhanced global chamber function and myocellular contractility, diastolic dysfunction, and myocardial fibrosis development. Typically, patients with HCM experience atrial fibrillation (AF), syncope, and ventricular fibrillation (VF), causing severe symptoms and cardiac arrest. In contrast, sinoatrial node (SAN) arrest in the setting of HCM is uncommon. In particular, during VF, it has not been described so far.
Case summary
In this study, we report an 18-year-old woman patient with sudden cardiac arrest due to VF and successful cardiopulmonary resuscitation as the first clinical manifestation of non-obstructive HCM. Subsequently, a subcutaneous implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) was implanted for secondary VF prophylaxis. However, additional episodes of VF occurred. During these, device interrogation revealed a combined occurrence of VF, bradycardia, and SAN arrest, requiring a device exchange into a dual-chamber ICD. A heterozygous, pathogenic variant of the
MYH7
gene (c.2155C>T; p.Arg719Trp) was identified as causative for HCM.
Discussion
First published in 1994, the particular
MYH7
variant (p.Arg719Trp) was described in HCM patients with a high incidence of premature cardiac death and a reduced life expectancy. Electrophysiological studies on HCM patients are mainly performed to treat AF and ventricular tachycardia. Further extraordinary arrhythmic phenotypes were reported only in a few HCM patients. Taken together, the present case with documented co-existing VF and SAN arrest is rare and also emphasizes addressing the presence of SAN arrest (in particular, during VF episodes) in HCM patients when a distinct ICD device is considered for implantation.
Complex neuropsychiatric-cardiac syndromes can be genetically determined. For the first time, the authors present a syndromal form of short QT syndrome in a 34-year-old German male patient with ...extracardiac features with predominant psychiatric manifestation, namely a severe form of secondary high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (ASD), along with affective and psychotic exacerbations, and severe dental enamel defects (with rapid wearing off his teeth) due to a heterozygous loss-of-function mutation in the
gene (NM_000719.6: c.2399A > C; p.Lys800Thr). This mutation was found only once in control databases; the mutated lysine is located in the Cav1.2 calcium channel, is highly conserved during evolution, and is predicted to affect protein function by most pathogenicity prediction algorithms. L-type Cav1.2 calcium channels are widely expressed in the brain and heart. In the case presented, electrophysiological studies revealed a prominent reduction in the current amplitude without changes in the gating behavior of the Cav1.2 channel, most likely due to a trafficking defect. Due to the demonstrated loss of function, the p.Lys800Thr variant was finally classified as pathogenic (ACMG class 4 variant) and is likely to cause a newly described Cav1.2 channelopathy.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
The totally subcutaneous implantable cardioverter‐defibrillator (S‐ICD) is an entirely novel defibrillation device that avoids the direct contact of device electrodes with the heart and the ...cardiovascular system. Here, we present a particular case of a young woman with congenital long‐QT syndrome in which we implanted the electrode alternatively, right parasternally. This decision was based on the thoracic anatomy of the patient and on findings of a model of S‐ICD electrodes in an adult torso. In conclusion, in some patients an alternative subcutaneous electrode position may be carefully considered but should not be taken to outweigh the standard left‐sided placement. (PACE 2012; 35:e254–e257)
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BFBNIB, DOBA, FSPLJ, FZAB, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VSZLJ
Brugada Syndrome and Supraventricular Tachyarrhythmias.
Introduction: The Brugada syndrome is a distinct form of idiopathic ventricular fibrillation characterized by a unique ECG pattern consisting ...of a right bundle branch block‐like aspect and ST segment elevation in leads V1 to V3. As a high induction rate of ventricular tachyarrhythmias has been reported in Brugada syndrome, we hypothesized that this also may be true for supraventricular tachycardias in these patients.
Methods and Results: Between January 1995 and December 2000, we identified 35 consecutive patients with Brugada syndrome; 26 had a history of cardiac arrest or syncope and 9 were asymptomatic. All patients underwent electrophysiologic study, including an atrial and ventricular stimulation protocol. Ten patients (29%) were found to have supraventricular tachyarrhythmias (SVT) in addition to the Brugada syndrome. These 10 patients presented with aborted sudden cardiac death (n = 3) and/or a family history of sudden cardiac death (n = 4), syncope (n = 4), or primarily with a Brugada typical ECG, a positive family history, and palpitations (n = 2). Eight of them underwent genetic testing, but only 1 had a mutation in the SCN5A gene. In 6 patients, an AV nodal reentrant tachycardia was easily and reproducibly inducible. Two patients had clinical documented and inducible episodes of an atrial tachycardia (1 in addition to an AV nodal reentrant tachycardia). One patient had paroxysmal atrial fibrillation alternating with sinus rhythm, and 2 patients with accessory pathways were identified.
Conclusion: This is the first description of an association of the Brugada syndrome with SVT. Thus, the arrhythmogenic substrate in Brugada syndrome may not be restricted to the ventricular level. Palpitations in this syndrome should raise the possibility of SVT. Conversely, in patients with SVT and aborted sudden cardiac death or syncope not related to SVT, the Brugada syndrome should be considered a possible additional electrophysiologic abnormality.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK, VSZLJ
Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) is an inheritable myocardial disease accounting for ventricular tachycardia and sudden death in the young and arising from areas of fibrofatty ...replacement of predominantly right ventricular myocardium. That some patients manifest life-threatening ventricular tachycardia in the absence of substantial myocardial replacement suggests that gap junction remodeling might be acting synergistically to ventricular remodeling to promote arrhythmogenesis. Hence, we sought to verify gap junction composition and distribution by analyzing the expression and occurrence of specific gap junction proteins (connexins Cxs) in patients with ARVC. Right ventricular endomyocardial biopsy specimens were taken from 16 patients with definite ARVC (age 48 ± 16 years) and analyzed for Cx40, Cx43, and Cx45 messenger ribonucleic acid expression (relative to glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate-dehydrogenase messenger ribonucleic acid expression). The results were compared to those obtained from nondiseased donor hearts (n = 6; age 32 ± 11 years). The patients with ARVC showed a significant reduction in the messenger ribonucleic acid expression of Cx40 (p <0.0001) and Cx45 (p <0.0001) compared to that of the controls. The expression of Cx43 was similar in patients with ARVC and controls (p = 0.098). Mutations in plakophilin-2 were identified in 7 of 16 patients (25%). The Cx expression levels were comparable between the mutation carriers and noncarriers (p = NS). In conclusion, ARVC features alterations in the expression of Cxs and their distribution at cardiac intercalated discs. Apart from the deposition of extracellular matrix, the potential loss of gap junctions and shift in the composition of gap junctional Cxs in the ventricular conduction system might further contribute to the development of ventricular arrhythmias in patients with ARVC.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
Abstract TASK-1 channels have emerged as promising drug targets against atrial fibrillation, the most common arrhythmia in the elderly. While TASK-3, the closest relative of TASK-1, was previously ...not described in cardiac tissue, we found a very prominent expression of TASK-3 in right human auricles. Immunocytochemistry experiments of human right auricular cardiomyocytes showed that TASK-3 is primarily localized at the plasma membrane. Single-channel recordings of right human auricles in the cell-attached mode, using divalent-cation-free solutions, revealed a TASK-1-like channel with a single-channel conductance of about 30 pS. While homomeric TASK-3 channels were not found, we observed an intermediate single-channel conductance of about 55 pS, possibly reflecting the heteromeric channel formed by TASK-1 and TASK-3. Subsequent experiments with TASK-1/TASK-3 tandem channels or with co-expressed TASK-1 and TASK-3 channels in HEK293 cells or Xenopus oocytes, supported that the 55 pS channels observed in right auricles have electrophysiological characteristics of TASK-1/TASK-3 heteromers. In addition, co-expression experiments and single-channel recordings suggest that heteromeric TASK-1/TASK-3 channels have a predominant surface expression and a reduced affinity for TASK-1 blockers. In summary, the evidence for heteromeric TASK-1/TASK-3 channel complexes together with an altered pharmacologic response to TASK-1 blockers in vitro is likely to have further impact for studies isolating ITASK-1 from cardiomyocytes and for the development of drugs specifically targeting TASK-1 in atrial fibrillation treatment.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
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