Autosomal Recessive Catecholamine- or Exercise-Induced Polymorphic Ventricular Tachycardia

Abstract
Background—Catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (PVT) is characterized by episodes of syncope, seizures, or sudden death in response to physiological or emotional stress. In 2 families with autosomal dominant inheritance, the disease gene was mapped to chromosome 1q42-43. The objectives of this study were to characterize the clinical features of the disease in a Bedouin tribe from Israel and to map the disease gene. Methods and Results—In this Bedouin tribe, 9 children (age, 7±4 years) from 7 related families have died suddenly during the past decade, and 12 other children suffered from recurrent syncope and seizures starting at the age of 6±3 years. Parents of affected individuals were asymptomatic and were all related (first-, second-, or third-degree cousins). Segregation analysis suggested autosomal recessive inheritance. All 12 symptomatic patients and 1 asymptomatic sibling (mean age, 13±7 years) were found to have a relative resting bradycardia (64±13 bpm, versus 93±12 bpm in the u...