[False tendons in the left ventricle--an independent arrhythmogenic factor?]

To assess if the presence of false tendons (FT) in the left ventricle can be an independent factor increasing the risk of ventricular arrhythmias in apparently healthy subjects, we examined 38 persons aged 18-60 years in whom during echocardiographic examination we accidently found FT in the left ventricle. No other echocardiographic disorders were present. Physical examination, ECG and stress ECG showed no symptoms of heart disease. The only ischaemic heart disease risk factor was smoking in 20 persons (in 6--more then 20 cigarettes daily). 24-hours Holter monitoring revealed single supraventricular complexes in 9 persons (34.7%). We found ventricular arrhythmias in 6 persons (15.8%): 4 (10.5%) had single, unifocal ventricular complexes, 1 (2.6%) had more (up to 6 in one minute) ventricular complexes, and 1 (2.6%) had some ventricular couplets. We observed no ventricular arrhythmias in stress ECG. We conclude, that in apparently healthy subjects with FT the frequency of ventricular arrhythmias is not higher, then in the normal healthy population.