Ventricular Tachyarrhythmia Prediction

Using R-R interval history from 24-hour Holter recorders along with R-R interval history from implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD), a particular monotonic heart rhythm acceleration pattern during sinus rhythm, when used as a predictor of an imminent episode of ventricular tachyarrhythmia, can achieve a sensitivity of 44% with corresponding specificity of 94%. A more meaningful quantity than the specificity is the daily rate of Type II error, which is 1.8 event/day in this case. The Type II error rate can be reduced to 0.7 event/day with a nonoptimized sensitivity of 47% by using a double acceleration predictor.