Detection of late potentials. Comparison of two commercial high-resolution ECG systems

Signal-averaged electrocardiogram (SAECG) is used for detection of ventricular late potentials (LPs) in cardiac patients. As many commercial SAECG systems become available, it is essential to determine if they provide equivalent diagnostic information. Two high-resolution (Hi-Res) ECG systems (MAC-12, Marquette Electronics, Inc (MEI), Milwaukee, WI and LVP101, Arrhythmia Research Technology (ART), Austin, TX) were tested on 143 subjects (13 controls and 130 cardiac patients, 21 of whom were tested for inducible ventricular tachycardia [VT]). Late potential measurements (total QRS duration, high-frequency low-amplitude signal duration, and root-mean-square voltage) obtained from the two systems were in good agreement in most of the controls and patients. Application of Multicenter criteria for the MEI system and Gomes criteria for the ART system yielded very good agreement in LP diagnosis (at least 2 parameters abnormal). The two Hi-Res systems predicted inducible VT with good accuracy. The MEI system gave slightly higher sensitivity (90% vs 70%) and specificity (91% vs 82%) than the ART system in patients tested for inducible VT. In controls, both systems gave the same specificity (92%) and the LP diagnosis agreed in all controls (100%). Although the number of patients was small, neither sensitivity nor specificity were significantly different between the two systems at p < 0.05. To conclude, MEI and ART Hi-Res systems gave very similar LP diagnoses when appropriate criteria were applied.