Brugada Syndrome: The Role of Risk Stratification in Selecting Patients for Implantable Cardioverter-defibrillator Placement

Brugada syndrome (BS) is an inherited cardiac ion channelopathy that is a rare, but treatable, cause of sudden cardiac death (SCD). There are many studies that explore the management of symptomatic BS, but few trials have been conducted regarding management of asymptomatic Brugada patients. Asymptomatic BS patients are shown to be at increased risk (0.5%-1.5%) for SCD compared to the general population and account for nearly 20% of deaths from SCD in patients with structurally normal hearts. Treatment for asymptomatic BS patients is often debated with the current guidelines allowing for management decisions to be made on a case-by-case basis. Therapies include either anti-arrhythmic medications, implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) placement, or no active treatment. This review intended to assess whether ICD placement benefits asymptomatic BS patients and what criteria may be useful in selecting patients for ICD placement. Results showed that ICD placement can reduce mortality in select asymptomatic patients. There were certain risk factors that increased the likelihood that an asymptomatic patient would experience SCD and thus benefit from an ICD. These factors include an electrocardiogram(ECG) demonstrating spontaneous type 1 Brugada Syndrome and inducibility of ventricular tachyarrhythmias during electrophysiological study. Other variables including gender, family history of SCD, and the presence of SCN5A mutation were not predictive of arrhythmic events. Moreover, many patients can suffer complications from ICDs that can affect the quality of life including inappropriate shocks, device malfunction, infection, mental health problems, and difficulties with replacements. Guidelines for quantifying the risk of SCD relative to the risks associated with ICD placement are still poorly defined. These complications and risk factors should be taken into consideration in the context of a patient-centered discussion regarding ICD placement in asymptomatic patients.