Complications

Complication
Timeframe
Likelihood
variable
medium

Atrial arrhythmias occur in about 10% of patients with Brugada syndrome.​[61][95][96]

New-onset atrial fibrillation

variable
low

Brugada syndrome (BrS) is the cause of around 28% of cases of sudden cardiac death in patients with an apparently normal heart and around 5% to 10% of cases of resuscitated cardiac arrest.[1][93][94]​​ Around 1 in 25 patients with BrS have a history of cardiac arrest at time of initial diagnosis.[1][54]​ Incidence of sudden cardiac death in those without an ICD is approximately 0.19%.[84]​ Patients who have BrS and cardiogenic syncope have an annual incidence of a serious arrhythmic event of about 1.4%.[1]​ The most likely mechanism of serious arrhythmic events is ventricular fibrillation initiated by short-coupled premature ventricular complexes.[1]

Overview of dysrhythmias (cardiac)

variable
low

Patients who require an ICD tend to be <50 years old and are at risk of ICD-related complications (e.g., lead fracture, infection) and unnecessary ICD shocks. One meta-analysis found a 4.5% annual rate of ICD-related complications and a 3.5% annual rate of inappropriate shocks.[97]

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