Abstract

Background: The sudden cardiac death syndrome has a large preponderance in men compared to women and that too in older age group. Various population studies have demonstrated four- to seven-fold increase of sudden cardiac death among men compared with women. As coronary event risk increases in post-menopausal women, sudden cardiac death risk increases proportionately. Corrected QT interval measurements may predict the chances of increased risk of sudden cardiac death in an apparently healthy individual. Aims and Objectives: The objective of the study was to find any independent association between age and gender on the QT-corrected interval.
Materials and Methods: This study included 48 healthy men and 32 healthy women between 17 and 68 years age divided into three groups: Young (<30 years), middle-aged (30-60 years), and the elderly (>60 years). Standard supine 12 lead electrocardiographic was done in these subjects, and statistical analysis was done. The cutoff points for QTc were ≤450 ms (normal), 451 to 470 ms (borderline), and >470 ms (prolonged), in case of women, and ≤430 ms (normal), 431 to 450 ms (borderline), and >450 ms (prolonged) for men.
Results: QTc was found to be 374.9 ± 31 (ms) in the young group, 386.3 ± 14.8 (ms) in middle-aged group, and 414.5 ± 11.8 (ms) in the elderly group. Males had longer QTc than the females in the young- and the middle-age groups. Conclusion: Age significantly correlated (r = 0.475) with QT and QTc interval in healthy subjects. Gender was a poor predictor of QT interval.