Simple electrocardiographic measures improve sudden arrhythmic death prediction in coronary disease

Aims To determine whether the combination of standard electrocardiographic (ECG) markers reflecting domains of arrhythmic risk improves sudden and/or arrhythmic death (SAD) risk stratification in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD). Methods and results The association between ECG markers and SAD was examined in a derivation cohort (PREDETERMINE; N = 5462) with adjustment for clinical risk factors, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), and competing risk. Competing outcome models assessed the differential association of ECG markers with SAD and competing mortality. The predictive value of a derived ECG score was then validated (ARTEMIS; N = 1900). In the derivation cohort, the 5-year cumulative incidence of SAD was 1.5% [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.1–1.9] and 6.2% (95% CI 4.5–8.3) in those with a low- and high-risk ECG score, respectively (P for Δ Conclusion For patients with CHD, an externally validated ECG score enriched for both absolute and proportional SAD risk and significantly improved risk stratification compared to standard clinical risk factors including LVEF. Clinical Trial Registration https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01114269. ClinicalTrials.gov ID NCT01114269.