874-3 Assessment of microvolt T wave alternans on and off beta-blocker therapy

Current Developments in Microvolt T-wave Alternans

Microvolt T-wave alternans (MTWA), the beat-to-beat fluctuation in T wave amplitude and morphology, is closely linked to vulnerability to ventricular arrhythmias in various experimental and clinical conditions. Clinically, MTWA is most commonly measured using the spectral method, although non-spectral methods for its assessment from ambulatory electrocardiographical recordings also have been de...

Review of Key Clinical Literature on Microvolt T-Wave Alternans

Evidence regarding clinical use of microvolt T-wave alternans.

BACKGROUND Microvolt T-wave alternans (MTWA) testing in many studies has proven to be a highly accurate predictor of ventricular tachyarrhythmic events (VTEs) in patients with risk factors for sudden cardiac death (SCD) but without a prior history of sustained VTEs (primary prevention patients). In some recent studies involving primary prevention patients with prophylactically implanted cardiov...

Immediate ventricular tachycardia after abnormal microvolt T-wave alternans.

Microvolt T-wave alternans (MTWA) is a promising non-invasive method of evaluating repolarization abnormalities. Its presence is strongly related to the occurrence of malignant ventricular tachyarrhythmias and is therefore regarded as a risk marker for sudden cardiac death. Most recent studies have described the usefulness of MTWA in selecting patients who may benefit from a cardioverter-defibr...

Microvolt T-wave alternans: where do we go from here?