Significance of Impedance Cardiography and Early Repolarization Pattern in ECG in Congestive Heart Failure

Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a disorder of the heart when structural or functional heart disease impairs the heart's ability to work properly. In developed countries, the prevalence of CHF in the general population is around 1-2% (depending on the definition used) and the prevalence of CHF in people aged 70 years and older is ≥ 10%. The cumulative 5-year mortality of patients with CHF is about 50%. According to different studies, the prevalence of the early repolarization pattern (ERP) in the 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) in the general population is 2-31%. Although ERP in ECG have been considered as benign finding for many years, an increasing number of studies have been conducted in recent years to demonstrate an association of ERP in ECG with sudden cardiac death, mainly through ventricular arrhythmias in previously healthy individuals or those with structural cardiac pathology. New studies are also being performed to support the association of ERP with the progression of CHF. Although the prevalence of ERP in the general population is not very high, the knowledge that ERP lead to a higher risk of sudden cardiac death and development of CHF lets physicians tailor patient care and follow-up, and treatment at a very low cost because ECG is a cheap, simple, and widely available diagnostic test. Impedance cardiography (ICG) is another safe, non-invasive, cheap, routine diagnostic method based on the detection of changes in thoracic bioimpedance during heartbeat. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic significance of ICG and ERP in congestive heart failure patients and to compare it with other non-invasive CHF diagnostic methods. The investigators hypothesize that ERP and changes in ICG readings may be used as a cheap, safe, non-invasive and widely available diagnostic and prognostic methods in patients with congestive heart failure witch help physicians tailor their patient follow-up and treatment accordingly. The partic