Prevalence and mortality of the Brugada-type electrocardiogram in one city in Japan.
OBJECTIVE
We sought to study the prevalence and mortality of subjects exhibiting the Brugada-type electrocardiogram (ECG) in a community-based population in Japan.


BACKGROUND
The Brugada syndrome has been associated with sudden death in subjects without structural heart disease. Hospital-based studies showed 11% to 38% annual fatal arrhythmic events in patients with the Brugada syndrome.


METHODS
Prevalence and mortality of the Brugada-type ECG were studied in subjects who had ECGs during a health examination in Moriguchi, Osaka, Japan. Information about death and relocation from Moriguchi city was obtained prospectively.


RESULTS
The Brugada-type ECG was found in 98 of 13,929 study subjects (0.70%, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.57% to 0.86%). The typical coved-type with an rsR' pattern in V(1) lead ("typical" Brugada-type) was found in 0.12% of subjects (95% CI: 0.07% to 0.20%). The prevalence for male subjects with the Brugada-type ECG (81%) was significantly higher than it was for those without (26%, p < 0.0001). In male subjects, the Brugada-type ECG was found in 2.14% (95% CI: 1.70% to 2.66%), and the "typical" Brugada-type was found in 0.38% (95% CI: 0.21% to 0.64%). After 2.6 +/- 0.3 years of follow-up, there was 1 death (1.0%, 95% CI: 0.03% to 5.6%) of a subject with the Brugada-type ECG, whereas there were 139 deaths (1.0%, 95% CI: 0.85% to 1.2%) of those without the Brugada-type ECG (p = 0.9943, log-rank test).


CONCLUSIONS
A substantial number of the Brugada-type ECG were observed in subjects in a community-based population in Japan, especially in men. The total mortality of subjects with the Brugada-type ECG did not differ from the mortality of those without the Brugada-type ECG in a community-based population.
Miyasaka
Y
Y
Cardiovascular Division, Department of Medicine II, Kansai Medical University, Osaka, Japan. miyasaka@takii.kmu.ac.jp
Tsuji
H
H
Yamada
K
K
Tokunaga
S
S
Saito
D
D
Imuro
Y
Y
Matsumoto
N
N
Iwasaka
T
T
D000368:Aged; D002037:Bundle-Branch Block / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016757:Death, Sudden, Cardiac / Q000453:epidemiology; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D013577:Syndrome; D014693:Ventricular Fibrillation / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality