Introduction of The Brugada Syndrome – Diagnosis, Clinical Implications and Risk Stratification

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Summary

Introduction

The Brugada syndrome (BrS) is a hereditary arrhythmia syndrome manifesting as recurrent syncope or sudden cardiac death (SCD) due to polymorphic ventricular (VT) or fibrillation (VF) in the absence of overt structural heart disease or myocardial ischaemia.^1,2 The prevalence of the syndrome is estimated at around 15 per 10,000 in South East Asia including Japan and around 2 per 10,000 in the Western countries.^3,4 The BrS may be responsible for up to 4 % of all sudden cardiac deaths (SCD) and at least 20 % of SCDs in patients with structurally normal hearts.⁵ It is 8–10 times more prevalent in males than in females⁶ and males are at considerably higher risk of dying suddenly.⁷ In South-East Asia, the BrS is the leading cause of non-traumatic death in men younger than 40 years.⁸ This review will briefly summarise current knowledge about the BrS with emphasis on the methods for diagnosis and risk assessment.