Association between T-wave discordance and the development of heart failure in left bundle branch block patients: Results from the Copenhagen ECG study

BACKGROUND: In left bundle branch block (LBBB), discrepancies between depolarization and repolarization of the heart can be assessed by similar direction (concordant) or opposite direction (discordant) of the lateral T-waves compared to the direction of the QRS complex and by the QRS-T angle. We examined the association between discordant T-waves and high QRS-T angles for heart failure development in primary care LBBB patients.

METHODS: Between 2001 and 2011, we identified 2540 patients from primary care with LBBB without overt heart failure. We examined the development of heart failure in relation to two ECG measures: (1) LBBB as either discordant (two or three monophasic T-waves in the opposite direction of the QRS complex in leads I, V5 or V6) or concordant, and (2) the frontal plane QRS-T angle in quartile groups.

RESULTS: In total, 244 of 913 patients (26.7%) with discordant LBBB developed heart failure compared to 302 of 1627 patients (16.7%) with concordant LBBB. Multivariable Cox regression comparing discordant with concordant LBBB showed a hazard ratio (HR) of 2.58 (95% Confidence interval [CI] 1.71-3.89) for heart failure development within 30 days of follow-up and a HR of 1.45 (95%CI 1.19-1.77) after 30 days. For QRS-T angle, comparing the highest quartile (160°-180°) with the lowest quartile (0°-110°) we found a HR of 2.25 (95%CI 1.26-4.02) within 30 days and a HR of 1.67 (95%CI 1.25-2.23) after 30 days.

CONCLUSION: T-wave discordance in lateral ECG leads and a high QRS-T angle are associated with heart failure development in primary care LBBB patients.