Research Article: The prevalence of Brugada syndrome in patients presenting to an emergency room in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Abstract:
Brugada syndrome (BrS) is a rare inherited arrhythmia associated with an increased risk of sudden cardiac death. Significant variation in the prevalence of BrS across different countries has been well documented. However, no study has examined the prevalence of BrS in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, our aim was to assess the prevalence of BrS in patients presenting to an emergency department (ED) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
This retrospective study included consecutive adult patients who presented to the ED at King Khalid University Hospital (KKUH) and underwent an electrocardiogram (ECG). Demographic and clinical variables were collected from the records, and ECGs were examined for the presence of a Brugada pattern (BrP). BrS was diagnosed when a type 1 BrP was observed with no secondary causes, and BrP was diagnosed when a non-type 1 pattern was observed. A prespecified sensitivity analysis was conducted, excluding patients whose presentation was potentially compatible with BrS (syncope, presyncope, cardiac arrest, and palpitations).
We included 1,000 patients. Men constituted 498 patients (49.8%). The majority were Saudi nationals (830, 85.6%) and the overall median age was 46 years (IQR: 30–65 years). The majority of the patients were afebrile at presentation (915, 93%) and a small number of patients took Brugada-inducing medications (27, 2.7%). The prevalence of BrS was 2/1,000 (0.002; 95% CI: 0.0002–0.007) and the prevalence of BrP was 26/1,000 (0.026; 95% CI: 0.0179–0.0390). Among the patients with BrP, 11 exhibited a type 2 pattern (42.3%) and 15 exhibited a type 3 pattern (57.7%). The sensitivity analysis revealed a prevalence of BrS of 2/912 (0.002; 95% CI: 0.0–0.0061) and a prevalence of BrP of 26/912 (0.028; 95% CI: 0.0178–0.0402).
This is the first Saudi Arabian study on BrS prevalence, suggesting a high prevalence and a notable proportion of non-type 1 Brugada electrocardiogram (ECG) patterns.
Introduction:
Brugada syndrome (BrS) is a rare inherited arrhythmia associated with an increased risk of sudden cardiac death. Significant variation in the prevalence of BrS across different countries has been well documented. However, no study has examined the prevalence of BrS in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, our aim was to assess the prevalence of BrS in patients presenting to an emergency department (ED) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
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