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The Role of Resting Electrocardiogram in Screening for Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Diseases in High-Risk Groups

  • Novel and Emerging Risk Factors (K. Nasir, Section Editor)
  • Published:
Current Cardiovascular Risk Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose of Review

We sought to determine whether a role existed for the screening of certain populations with electrocardiogram (ECG) to improve risk stratification and facilitate risk reduction for primary prevention.

Recent Findings

Current screening guidelines do not recommend ECG screening for the general population.

Summary

While current guidelines, based on the available evidence, do not recommend ECG screening for the general population, in this report, we show that certain groups such as the elderly, those with hypertension, diabetes, or chronic kidney disease, may benefit from screening as a cost-effective means for identifying those at risk for future cardiovascular disease events. However, future studies are needed to standardize ECG markers and further qualify the screening value in these populations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Internal Medicine, Wake Forest School of Medicine, 1 Medical Center Blvd, Winston-Salem, NC, 27157, USA

    Thong Nguyen & George Waits

  2. Epidemiological Cardiology Research Center (EPICARE), Department of Epidemiology and Prevention, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston Salem, NC, USA

    Elsayed Z. Soliman

Authors
  1. Thong Nguyen
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  2. George Waits
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  3. Elsayed Z. Soliman
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Correspondence to George Waits.

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Thong Nguyen, George Waits, and Elsayed Z. Soliman declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Novel and Emerging Risk Factors

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Nguyen, T., Waits, G. & Soliman, E.Z. The Role of Resting Electrocardiogram in Screening for Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Diseases in High-Risk Groups. Curr Cardiovasc Risk Rep 12, 9 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12170-018-0572-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12170-018-0572-y

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