Stellenbosch – “Autonomic Control of Heart Rate and of QT Interval Variability Influences Arrhythmic Risk in Long QT Syndrome Type 1” is a research carried out in a collaboration between the University of Milan, the Instituto Auxologico, the University of Vanderbilt (USA) and Stellenbosch University (South Africa). The study was published in the February issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. The research was conducted among a South African population of subjects with the mutation responsible for the Long QT type 1 syndrome. The goal was to try to understand why members of the same family, characterized by the same mutation, show completely different symptoms and risk profiles. The results of the study indicates that subjects with low risk of fatal arrhythmic events have a more active sympathetic and a less reactive vagal system, thus suggesting a close association between an autonomic profile, cardiovascular control and the risk of developing arrhythmias. (9Colonne)
