TY - JOUR
T1 - Pregnancy in women with Brugada syndrome
T2 - Is there an increased arrhythmia risk? A case-series report
AU - van der Crabben, Saskia N.
AU - Kowsoleea, Astra I. E.
AU - Clur, Sally-Ann B.
AU - Wilde, Arthur A. M.
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Authors. Journal of Cardiovascular Electrophysiology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC
PY - 2022/1
Y1 - 2022/1
N2 - Introduction: In some rare arrhythmia syndromes, arrhythmia risk in female patients increases during pregnancy, necessitating extra controls. We wanted to evaluate if the increased risk for arrhythmia during pregnancy applies in women with Brugada syndrome and their potentially affected fetuses. Methods: A comprehensive literature search was performed on PubMed (MeSH search terms “Brugada syndrome,” “pregnancy,” “parturition,” “labor,” “delivery,” “fetal death,” and “stillbirth”). Results: Overall, six case reports with a total of six patients were identified. Of these six patients (three carriers of an SCN5A variant, three not tested), two women (both with unknown SCN5A status), developed severe cardiac events during pregnancy. The first patient, with a previous history of aborted sudden cardiac arrest at the age of 12 years, developed ventricular fibrillation (VF), while the other was diagnosed with Brugada syndrome postpartum because of nocturnal agonal respiration during pregnancy. Conclusion: These (limited, heterogenous) cases suggest that women with Brugada syndrome (and their possibly affected fetuses), might have an overall low tendency to develop arrhythmias during pregnancy, but important data on risk factors (SCN5A status) are lacking. Arrhythmia risk during pregnancy seems to increase in probands and those who have previously experienced cardiac events. We suggest the use of risk stratification in these women to improve patient care, lower the emotional stress and physical burden for the pregnant mother, and lower health costs. Furthermore, we plead for SCN5A analysis in all these women for use of risk stratification and to enable cascade screening especially for specialized care in children carrying an SCN5A mutation.
AB - Introduction: In some rare arrhythmia syndromes, arrhythmia risk in female patients increases during pregnancy, necessitating extra controls. We wanted to evaluate if the increased risk for arrhythmia during pregnancy applies in women with Brugada syndrome and their potentially affected fetuses. Methods: A comprehensive literature search was performed on PubMed (MeSH search terms “Brugada syndrome,” “pregnancy,” “parturition,” “labor,” “delivery,” “fetal death,” and “stillbirth”). Results: Overall, six case reports with a total of six patients were identified. Of these six patients (three carriers of an SCN5A variant, three not tested), two women (both with unknown SCN5A status), developed severe cardiac events during pregnancy. The first patient, with a previous history of aborted sudden cardiac arrest at the age of 12 years, developed ventricular fibrillation (VF), while the other was diagnosed with Brugada syndrome postpartum because of nocturnal agonal respiration during pregnancy. Conclusion: These (limited, heterogenous) cases suggest that women with Brugada syndrome (and their possibly affected fetuses), might have an overall low tendency to develop arrhythmias during pregnancy, but important data on risk factors (SCN5A status) are lacking. Arrhythmia risk during pregnancy seems to increase in probands and those who have previously experienced cardiac events. We suggest the use of risk stratification in these women to improve patient care, lower the emotional stress and physical burden for the pregnant mother, and lower health costs. Furthermore, we plead for SCN5A analysis in all these women for use of risk stratification and to enable cascade screening especially for specialized care in children carrying an SCN5A mutation.
KW - Brugada syndrome
KW - SCN5A gene
KW - arrhythmia
KW - fetus
KW - pregnancy
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85118274313&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1111/jce.15279
DO - https://doi.org/10.1111/jce.15279
M3 - Article
C2 - 34674339
SN - 1045-3873
VL - 33
SP - 123
EP - 127
JO - Journal of cardiovascular electrophysiology
JF - Journal of cardiovascular electrophysiology
IS - 1
ER -