Risk factors and stratification for sudden cardiac death using inflammation / metabolomics and high-resolution electrocardiograph

Abstract

It is difficult for health practitioners to clearly determine the risk of sudden cardiac death but only by determining the risk can risk factors be reduced or eliminated. Dr Atsushi Suzuki, Department of Cardiology, Tokyo Women's Medical University, Japan, is conducting exploratory research on gene expression and high-resolution electrocardiogram index for predicting the effects of antiarrhythmic drugs in collaboration with the University's Department of Pathology and the University of Tokyo. Suzuki and the team are using blood tests and genetic tests, high-resolution electrocardiograph (ECG) indicators and metabolome analysis in this work. Metabolome analysis has not previously been considered as a risk factor for sudden death and the high-resolution ECG indicators Suzuki and the team are using are currently only adopted in a few facilities, making this research highly innovative. In order to develop a suitable risk assessment method and enable more accurate stratification of the risk of sudden cardiac death, the researchers are using a high-resolution ECG called DREAM-ECG to detect the arrhythmic matrix of heart failure patients and compare this to the results of inflammation, T cell subset and comprehensive metabolome search. In addition the team is working to shed light on the causes of lethal arrhythmia. Furthermore, Suzuki wants to reduce incidence of the unnecessary implantation of implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) and is seeking to accomplish this through his work.