Noninvasive ECG imaging (ECGI): Mapping the arrhythmic substrate of the human heart

This short communication accompanies my presentation at the International Congress on Sudden Cardiac Death held in Prague, March 30-April 1, 2017. It summarizes briefly studies of the cardiac electrophysiological substrate in patients with hereditary arrhythmogenic syndromes - the Long QT and Brugada syndromes - conducted noninvasively, in situ, using Electrocardiographic Imaging (ECGI). The same noninvasive approach was used to map the electrophysiological substrate of a post-infarction myocardial scar and to relate this substrate to the pattern of activation during reentrant ventricular tachycardia. My thoughts about a potential role for ECGI in cardiac research and clinical care are also expressed briefly, with examples from on-going work in my laboratory.