Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34125232›Full record

ArticleEuropace : European pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac electrophysiology : journal of the working groups on cardiac pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac cellular electrophysiology of the European Society of Cardiology2021

The β-angle can help guide clinical decisions in the diagnostic work-up of patients suspected of Brugada syndrome: a validation study of the β-angle in determining the outcome of a sodium channel provocation test.

Martijn H van der Ree, Jeroen Vendrik, Tom E Verstraelen, Jan A Kors, Ahmad S Amin, Arthur A M Wilde, Hanno L Tan, Pieter G Postema

Open access · bronzeAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Europace : European pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac electrophysiology : journal of the working groups on cardiac pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac cellular electrophysiology of the European Society of Cardiology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
0.8field-weighted citation impact, top 27% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 9 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Guideline
  2. Beyond the type 1 pattern: comprehensive risk stratification in Brugada syndrome.Journal of interventional cardiac electrophysiology : an international journal of arrhythmias and pacing · 2025
    Review
  3. Diagnosing Brugada syndrome: look for right ventricular outflow tract conduction delay.Europace : European pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac electrophysiology : journal of the working groups on cardiac pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac cellular electrophysiology of the European Society of Cardiology · 2025
    Article
  4. Assessment of activation delay in the right ventricular outflow tract as a potential complementary diagnostic tool for Brugada Syndrome.Europace : European pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac electrophysiology : journal of the working groups on cardiac pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac cellular electrophysiology of the European Society of Cardiology · 2025
    Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Martijn H van der ReeDepartment of Clinical and Experimental Cardiology, Heart Center, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Cardiovascular Sciences, Meibergdreef 9, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0002-2565-337X
Jeroen VendrikDepartment of Clinical and Experimental Cardiology, Heart Center, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Cardiovascular Sciences, Meibergdreef 9, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0002-0172-5842
Tom E VerstraelenDepartment of Clinical and Experimental Cardiology, Heart Center, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Cardiovascular Sciences, Meibergdreef 9, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0002-4340-6815
Jan A KorsDepartment of Medical Informatics, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, 3015 GD Rotterdam, The Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0002-4929-026X
Ahmad S AminDepartment of Clinical and Experimental Cardiology, Heart Center, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Cardiovascular Sciences, Meibergdreef 9, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Arthur A M WildeDepartment of Clinical and Experimental Cardiology, Heart Center, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Cardiovascular Sciences, Meibergdreef 9, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0002-0528-0852
Hanno L TanDepartment of Clinical and Experimental Cardiology, Heart Center, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Cardiovascular Sciences, Meibergdreef 9, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0002-7905-5818
Pieter G PostemaDepartment of Clinical and Experimental Cardiology, Heart Center, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Cardiovascular Sciences, Meibergdreef 9, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0003-2863-9159
Amsterdam University Medical Centers · NLErasmus MC · NLNetherlands Heart Institute · NL

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

aimsIn patients with Brugada syndrome (BrS) but without spontaneous Type-1 electrocardiogram, several electrocardiographic characteristics have been studied, including the β-angle. Previous studies suggested that the β-angle might be useful in distinguishing BrS-patients from patients with only suggestive repolarization patterns without performing sodium channel blocker provocation testing. In this study, we aimed to determine the diagnostic value of the β-angle in patients suspected of BrS. METHODS AND

resultsA large cohort (n = 1430) of consecutive patients who underwent provocation testing was evaluated. β-angles were measured in leads V1, V2, and their corresponding positions over the second and third intercostal space. Receiver-operating characteristic curves were constructed and the diagnostic accuracy of previously reported β-angle cut-offs were calculated and evaluated. The importance of the β-angle for predicting the provocation test outcome was determined using a prediction model constructed with logistic regression. The optimum β-angle cut-off in our cohort for ruling out a positive provocation test was 15°; sensitivities were 80-98% and negative predictive values were 79-96% among the right precordial leads. Previously reported β-angle cut-offs performed less well, indicated by lower Youden indices. In the optimism-corrected prediction model [C-statistic: 0.78 (95% CI: 0.75-0.81)], the β-angle had large value (Z-score: 2.1-10.3) and aided construction of a nomogram to predict test outcome.

conclusionTo predict the outcome of provocation testing for BrS, the β-angle alone does not demonstrate strong diagnostic characteristics. However, the β-angle is an important variable to predict provocation test outcome and thus has added value.

Indexed as

Brugada SyndromeElectrocardiographyHumansROC CurveSodium Channel BlockersSodium ChannelsSodium Channel BlockersSodium ChannelsBrugada syndromeDiagnostic characteristicsElectrocardiographic characteristicsβ-angle

Identifiers

PMID34125232
PMCPMC8651167
OpenAlexW3171645206

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.