title: Duration of QRS complex in resting electrocardiogram is a predictor of sudden cardiac death in men.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Previous studies indicate that increased QRS duration in ECG is related to the risk of all-cause death. However, the association of QRS duration with the risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD) is not well documented in large population-based studies. Our aim was to examine the relation of QRS duration with SCD in a population-based sample of men.
  
  
  RESULTS
  This prospective study was based on a cohort of 2049 men aged 42 to 60 years at baseline with a 19-year follow-up, during which a total of 156 SCDs occurred. As a continuous variable, each 10-ms increase in QRS duration was associated with a 27% higher risk for SCD (relative risk, 1.27; 95% confidence interval, 1.14-1.40; P<0.001). Subjects with QRS duration of >110 ms (highest quintile) had a 2.50-fold risk for SCD (relative risk, 2.50; 95% confidence interval, 1.38-4.55; P=0.002) compared with those with QRS duration of <96 ms (lowest quintile), after adjustment for established key demographic and clinical risk factors (age, alcohol consumption, previous myocardial infarction, smoking, serum low- and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, C-reactive protein, type 2 diabetes mellitus, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, and cardiorespiratory fitness). In addition to QRS duration, smoking, previous myocardial infarction, type 2 diabetes mellitus, cardiorespiratory fitness, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, and C-reactive protein were independently associated with the risk of SCD.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  QRS duration is an independent predictor of the risk of SCD and may have utility in estimating SCD risk in the general population.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition, School of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland. sudhir.kurl@uef.fi
authors.forename: Sudhir
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kurl
authors.forename: Timo H
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Mäkikallio
authors.forename: Pentti
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rautaharju
authors.forename: Vesa
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kiviniemi
authors.forename: Jari A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Laukkanen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D016757:Death, Sudden, Cardiac / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012146:Rest / Q000502:physiology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D016019:Survival Analysis; D013997:Time Factors