Aging modulates dispersion of ventricular repolarization in the very old of the geriatric population

Aging plays an essential role in cardiac pathophysiology. Knowledge on the ventricular repolarization in very old individuals is limited. An increase of QT dispersion is associated with higher cardiovascular mortality. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether aging changes the QT dispersion in the very old. Heart rate, P wave duration, PR interval, QRS axis, QRS duration, QT interval, and QTc interval were measured from 12-lead resting ECG. QT dispersion (46 ± 21, 47 ± 17, 69 ± 31 ms, p < 0.005) was significantly increased in the age group ≧85 years (n = 29, 89 ± 4 years) than in the age group 75-84 years (n = 33, 79 ± 3 years) and the age group 65-74 years (n = 32, 68 ± 3 years). Aging modulates dispersion of ventricular repolarization, which may contribute to the cardiac mortality in the very old Asian population.