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The epidemiology of arrhythmia in infants: a population-based study

Christian James Turner1, Christopher Wren

  • 1The Heart Centre for Children, The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Christian.j.turner@gmail.com

Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health
|April 5, 2013
PubMed

Insights

Infant cardiac arrhythmias occur in 24.4 per 100,000 live births. Atrioventricular re-entry tachycardia is the most common type, highlighting the need for further research into infant arrhythmia incidence.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Cardiology
  • Epidemiology
  • Cardiac Electrophysiology

Background:

  • Cardiac arrhythmias are a significant cause of infant morbidity.
  • Previous studies have described arrhythmia types but lacked population-based incidence data.
  • Defining incidence is crucial for understanding the burden of infant arrhythmias.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the population-based incidence of clinically significant cardiac arrhythmias in infants.
  • To identify the most common types of infant arrhythmias.
  • To establish baseline epidemiological data for infant arrhythmias.

Main Methods:

  • Population-based cohort study in the Northern Region of England (1991-2010).
  • Inclusion criteria: clinically significant arrhythmias diagnosed via electrocardiogram in infants.
  • Exclusion criteria: infants with only arrhythmia substrates (e.g., QT prolongation).

Main Results:

  • Overall incidence of infant arrhythmia was 24.4 per 100,000 live births.
  • Atrioventricular re-entry tachycardia was the most frequent arrhythmia (16.3 per 100,000 live births).
  • Complete atrioventricular block and atrial flutter each occurred at 2.1 per 100,000 live births.

Conclusions:

  • This study provides the first population-based incidence data for infant arrhythmias.
  • The findings establish a benchmark for the epidemiology of infant cardiac arrhythmias.
  • Further investigation into the causes and management of these arrhythmias is warranted.
Abstract

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