Body surface isopotential maps of normal Japanese children

Body surface isopotential maps were compared between 52 normal children and 47 normal adults. While sequential changes in body surface potential distribution were similar, 4 significant differences in body surface maps were observed between them: 1) Surface maps of normal children showed less smooth contour of isopotential lines than did those of normal adults. For example, breakthrough minimum was recognized more frequently in children (100%) than adults (65%). 2) Breakthrough minimum appeared earlier in normal children (23.2 +/- 5.0 msec) than in normal adults (29.2 +/- 4.3 msec), and more leftwards on the chest. 3) Forty-seven percent of the children showed positive potentials on the upper and right portions of the anterior chest in the terminal phase of QRS, but this pattern was not observed in normal adults. 4) The maximum at the time of the peak of the T wave appeared more leftward in normal children than normal adults.