Cardiac repolarization changes in the children with breath-holding spells

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Cardiology
• Autonomic Nervous System Development
• Cardiac Electrophysiology

Background:

• Breath-holding spells are common, typically benign events in children.
• Spell frequency often decreases as the autonomic nervous system matures.
• Electrocardiographic repolarization patterns in affected children require further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare electrocardiographic repolarization parameters in children with breath-holding spells versus healthy controls.
• To identify potential cardiac repolarization abnormalities associated with breath-holding spells.

Main Methods:

• A comparative study involving fifty children with breath-holding spells and a control group of healthy children.
• Twelve-lead surface electrocardiography was performed on all participants.
• Measurements included QT dispersion, corrected QT (QTc) dispersion, T peak to T end dispersion, and P wave dispersion.

Main Results:

• The study found a statistically significant increase in QTc dispersion in children with breath-holding spells (148.2±33.1) compared to healthy children (132±27.3) (P = 0.01).
• No significant differences were observed in QT dispersion, T peak to T end dispersion, or P wave dispersion between the groups.
• The majority of patients (88%) experienced cyanotic spells, while 12% had pallid spells.

Conclusions:

• Increased QTc dispersion in children with breath-holding spells suggests cardiac repolarization abnormality.
• This finding may indicate an elevated risk of cardiac arrhythmia in children affected by breath-holding spells.
• Further research is warranted to understand the long-term cardiac implications.