13th International Congress
THE "NEW FRONTIERS"
OF ARRHYTHMIAS 1998

January 24-31, 1998
Marilleva, Trento, Italy

RT-243

Right bundle branch block, st segment elevation in leads V1-V3 and sudden cardiac death

Josep Brugada, Ramon Brugada*, Pedro Brugada**.
Arrhythmia Unit, Cardiovascular Institute, Hospital Clínic, University of Barcelona, Spain,
*Cardiology Department, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, USA,
**Cardiovascular Research and Teaching Institute, OLV Hospital, Aalst, Belgium

In 1992 we described eight cases of aborted sudden death in patients without demonstrable structural heart disease and a peculiar ECG pattern consisting of right bundle branch block and ST segment elevation in leads V1 to V3¹ (Fig. 1). Since then, new reports have appeared in the literature worldwide, suggesting a more common than previously suspected disorder^2-5.

Fig. 1: Twelve lead electrocardiogram of a male who suffered an episode of cardiac arrest requiring cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Note the typical pattern of right bundle branch block and ST segment elevation in leads V1-V3.