AUTHOR=Poulikakos Dimitrios , Hnatkova Katerina , Skampardoni Sofia , Green Darren , Kalra Philip , Malik Marek 

TITLE=Sudden Cardiac Death in Dialysis: Arrhythmic Mechanisms and the Value of Non-invasive Electrophysiology

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Physiology

VOLUME=Volume 10 - 2019

YEAR=2019

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physiology/articles/10.3389/fphys.2019.00144

DOI=10.3389/fphys.2019.00144

ISSN=1664-042X

ABSTRACT=Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD) is the leading cause of cardiovascular death in dialysis patients. This review discusses potential underlying arrhythmic mechanisms of SCD in the dialysis population. It examines recent evidence from studies using implantable loop recorders and from electrophysiological studies in experimental animal models of chronic kidney disease. The review summarises advances in the field of non-invasive electrophysiology for risk prediction in dialysis patients focusing on the predictive value of the QRS-T angle and of the assessments of autonomic imbalance by means of heart rate variability analysis. Future research directions in non-invasive electrophysiology are identified to advance the understanding of the arrhythmic mechanisms. A suggestion is made of incorporation of non-invasive electrophysiology procedures into clinical practice.