Early repolarization: Electrocardiographic cues to distinguish benign from malignant variants

Abstract

Historically, early repolarization (ER) has been considered a marker of good health as it is more prevalent in athletes, younger persons, and at slower heart rates. However, contemporary reports, largely based on data from resuscitated sudden cardiac arrest patients, suggest an association between ER and an increased risk for sudden cardiac death and the development of malignant ventricular arrhythmias. Therefore, after we present a brief-case presentation, we intend to review a challenging topic in recognition of malignant variants and propose a four-step comprehensive approach to simplify ECG discrimination when assessing ER changes.

Keywords: Arrhythmias; Early repolarization; Electrocardiography; ST-segment elevation; Sudden cardiac death; Ventricular arrhythmias.