Clinical significance of late potential in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy
Daikoku, S.
Nihon Rinsho. Japanese Journal of Clinical Medicine 53(2): 459-462
1995
ISSN/ISBN: 0047-1852 PMID: 7699873 Document Number: 454475
Signal-averaged electrocardiography is used to demonstrate low amplitude, high frequency late potential (LP) that represents areas of slow conduction and substrate for reentrant ventricular arrhythmias. Usefulness of LP has been established in patients with chronic ischemic heart disease. However, clinical significance of LP in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy remains to be clarified. We studied the relationships between LP and clinical characteristics in 34 patients with dilated cardiomyopathy. In 20 patients we evaluated the inducibility of sustained ventricular tachycardia (S-VT) using programmed electrical stimulation (PES). LP was detected in 20 of 34 patients. No statistical differences were observed between patients with LP and patients without LP in the incidence of congestive heart failure, hemodynamic parameters and mortality. But, patients with LP had higher incidence of spontaneous S-VT. S-VT was induced in 10 of 15 patients with LP and in none of 5 patients without LP. LP was an excellent indicator of the spontaneous incidence and inducibility of S-VT in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy.