Latent Causes of Sudden Cardiac Arrest

Inherited arrhythmia syndromes are a common cause of apparently unexplained cardiac arrest or sudden cardiac death. These include long QT syndrome and Brugada syndrome, with a well-recognized phenotype in most patients with suf-ficiently severe disease to lead to cardiac arrest. Less common and typically less apparent conditions that may not be readily evident include catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia, short QT syndrome and early repolari-zation syndrome. In cardiac arrest patients whose extensive testing does not reveal an underlying etiology, a diagnosis of idiopathic ventricular fibrillation or short-coupled ventricular fibrillation is assigned. This review summarizes our current understanding of the less common inherited arrhythmia syndromes and provides clinicians with a practical approach to diagnosis and management. (J Am Coll Cardiol EP 2022;8:806-821) (c) 2022 by the American College of Cardiology Foundation.