An institution-wide, computer-based alert system for irregular heart rhythms identified and characterized patients at risk of death, researchers found. Patients identified by the alert system with a greater than 500 ms corrected interval between the Q and T waves of their ECG cycle had a significantly higher risk of death compared with a QTc interval less than 500 ms (19% versus 5%), reported Michael J. Ackerman, MD, PhD, and colleagues from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

MedPage Today by Chris Kaiser

Tags: alert system, Cardiology, Dr. Michael Ackerman, ECG alarm, irregular heart rhythms, Mayo Clinic Rochester, MedPage Today, Research, Technology