High-frequency QRS components in coronary heart disease: relation to coronary angiography, left ventriculography and myocardial scintigraphy

This study investigates, in 32 patients with coronary heart disease (23 with myocardial infarction and 9 with angina pectoris), the relation between the high-frequency QRS components (HF-QRSc) root-mean-square (RMS) amplitude and, respectively, the number of coronary vessels with angiographically significant lesions, the angiographic left ventricular ejection fraction and the extent of myocardial necrosis and ischemia (assessed by thallium tomoscintigraphy). The extent of myocardial ischemia assessed by stress myocardial scintigraphy and the number of coronary arteries with significant angiographic lesions were not related to the HF-QRSc RMS amplitude at rest. Lower RMS amplitudes of HF-QRSc in the 40-250 Hz and 25-250 Hz filtering bands were significantly correlated with a higher extent of myocardial necrosis (r=-0.38, p=0.02) and, respectively, with a lower left ventricular ejection fraction (r=0.39, p=0.03).