title: Early repolarization: an evolving concept for the past 70 years.
abstract: For more than 70 years, early repolarization has been considered to be a common normal variant. In the general population, the prevalence ranges between 5 and 13%, and in athletes, a rising trend is observed from 20 to 90%. Nevertheless, from the latter half of the 1990s, a growing number of case reports, series, observational and prospective studies reported that the presence of various electrocardiographic patterns attributed to early repolarization may constitute a potential marker for the increased risk of sudden death in otherwise normal individuals, casting a dark shadow on this ECG peculiarity. This review provides a historical summary of the evolution of the concept of early repolarization from its original description to the latest works and a guide to help physicians in evaluating individuals with this common electrocardiographic pattern.
authors.affiliation: aDivision of Cardiology, Department of Medical Science, Città della Salute e della Scienza Hospital, University of Turin, Turin, Italy bThe Heart Centre, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Biasco
authors.forename: Yvonne
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cristoforetti
authors.forename: Ole
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: De Backer
authors.forename: Davide
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Castagno
authors.forename: Carla
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Giustetto
authors.forename: Fulvio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Orzan
authors.forename: Fiorenzo
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gaita
mesh_terms: D016757:Death, Sudden, Cardiac / Q000209:etiology; D004562:Electrocardiography / Q000379:methods; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D011379:Prognosis; D013177:Sports / Q000502:physiology; D014693:Ventricular Fibrillation / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000266:history