Microvolt T-wave alternans profile in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension

Abstract

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a devastating disease with poor prognosis. Despite novel medical therapies targeting PAH pathophysiology, right ventricular (RV) failure and sudden cardiac death account for the majority of deaths in these patients [1,2]. There are a number of indicators used for assessing the course of the disease and patient prognosis [3,4] but there is still a need for identification of non-invasive risk markers for predicting patient outcome. Microvolt T-wave alternans (MTWA) is a well-known non-invasive predictor of ventricular arrhythmias in patients with cardiomyopathies of various etiologies [5,6].