Heart Transplant Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Heart Transplant, including details on risks, prognosis, procedure, surgery, organ donation.

Serial signal-averaged electrocardiography in children after cardiac transplantation.

Bennhagen RG, Sörnmo L, Pahlm O, Pesonen E

Division of Paediatric Cardiology, Department of Paediatrics, Lund University Hospital, Lund, Sweden. rolf.bennhagen@skane.se

In patients with myocytolysis detected in endomyocardial biopsy, there is a tendency towards a shift of ventricular electrical axes from normal to strain pattern on surface ECG. Their 12-lead signal-averaged electrocardiogram (SAECG) show a significant increase in filtered QRS duration (QRSD) compared with those with specimens without myocytolysis. Late potentials were generally found more frequently in individual SAECG leads than in the vector magnitude. An increase in filtered QRSD and the presence of late potentials compared with a baseline study emphasizes the need for endomyocardial biopsy. Consequently, no change in these parameters may preclude the indication for endomyocardial biopsy.

Published 4 November 2005 in Pediatr Transplant, 9(6): 773-9.
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