Spatiotemporal repolarization dispersion before and after exercise in patients with long QT syndrome type 1 versus controls: probing into the arrhythmia substrate.

Congenital long QT syndrome (LQTS) carries an increased risk for syncope and sudden death. QT prolongation promotes ventricular extrasystoles, which, in the presence of an arrhythmia substrate, might trigger ventricular tachycardia degenerating into fibrillation. Increased electrical heterogeneity (dispersion) is the suggested arrhythmia substrate in LQTS. In the most common subtype LQT1, physical exercise predisposes for arrhythmia and spatiotemporal dispersion was therefore studied in this context. Thirty-seven patients (57% on β-blockers) and 37 healthy controls (mean age, 31 vs. 35; range, 6-68 vs. 6-72 yr) performed an exercise test. Frank vectorcardiography was used to assess spatiotemporal dispersion as T _ampl , T _area , the ventricular gradient (VG), and the T _peak-end interval from 10-s signal averages before and 7 ± 2 min after exercise; during exercise too much signal disturbance excluded analysis. Baseline and maximum heart rates as well as estimated exercise intensity were similar, but heart rate recovery was slower in patients. At baseline, QT and heart rate-corrected QT (QT _cB ) were significantly longer in patients (as expected), whereas dispersion parameters were numerically larger in controls. After exercise, QT _peakcB and T _peak-endcB increased significantly more in patients (18 ± 23 vs. 7 ± 10 ms and 12 ± 17 vs. 2 ± 6 ms; P < 0.001 and P < 0.01). There was, however, no difference in the change in T _ampl , T _area , and VG between groups. In conclusion, although temporal dispersion of repolarization increased significantly more after exercise in patients with LQT1, there were no signs of exercise-induced increase in global dispersion of action potential duration and morphology. The arrhythmia substrate/mechanism in LQT1 warrants further study. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Physical activity increases the risk for life-threatening arrhythmias in LQTS type 1 (LQT1). The arrhythmia substrate is presumably altered electrical heterogeneity (a.k.a. dispersion). Spatiotemporal dispersion parameters were therefore compared before and after exercise in patients versus healthy controls using Frank vectorcardiography, a novelty. Physical exercise prolonged the time between the earliest and latest complete repolarization in patients versus controls, but did not increase parameters reflecting global dispersion of action potential duration and morphology, another novelty.