Ventricular fibrillation (VF) is said to cause more than 300,000 sudden deaths each year in the US alone. In approximately 5 to 12% of cases, there are no demonstrable cardiac or noncardiac causes to account for the episode, which is therefore classified as idiopathic ventricular fibrillation (IVF). Patients with a distinct form of VF called Brugada syndrome (see 601144) present with a characteristic electrocardiographic pattern, with right bundle branch block (RBBB) and elevation of ST segment in leads V1 to V3 and may account for 40 to 60% of all IVF cases (review by Chen et al., 1998). Mutations in the SCN5A gene were identified in patients with Brugada syndrome-1 (601144).
Genetic Heterogeneity of Paroxysmal Familial Ventricular Fibrillation
Another familial form of VF (VF2; 612956) is caused by mutation in the DPP6 gene (126141) on chromosome 7q26. [from
OMIM]