The Role of Electrophysiology Testing in Survivors of Unexplained Cardiac Arrest (EPS ARREST)

June 11, 2025 updated by: Western University, Canada
Sudden cardiac death (SCD) remains a major cause of mortality within developed nations despite aggressive efforts to reduce its societal burden. Despite extensive clinical and genetic investigations, a subgroup of cardiac arrests remain unexplained, highlighting the potential contribution of additional cardiac conditions that may not be identified with contemporary diagnostic algorithms. The EPS ARREST study aims to evaluate the role of invasive electrophysiology study within this patient population.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

The majority of cases of SCD in older individuals occur secondary to coronary and structural heart disease, while genetic channelopathies and cardiomyopathies are prominent contributors in young adults. Among individuals that suffer aborted cardiac arrests in the absence of overt coronary and structural heart disease, diagnostic algorithms that screen for cardiac channelopathies and more subtle forms of structural heart disease have been established. Despite the extensive investigations currently utilized, a significant proportion of aborted cardiac arrests remain unexplained.

Although invasive electrophysiology studies are a cornerstone for diagnosis and management of arrhythmia disorders, they are not invariably included in the workup of cases of unexplained aborted cardiac arrest. This is largely driven by initial studies suggesting that the diagnostic yield in this context is low, however these investigations often used invasive electrophysiology studies indiscriminately in all cases of aborted cardiac arrest. Since these earlier studies, our insight and approach to SCD has evolved and it has become clear that the majority of patients do not require an invasive electrophysiology study for diagnosis. However an invasive electrophysiology study may still have an important role among these individuals when the initial workup is negative. Notably, arrhythmias that require invasive electrophysiology for diagnosis, including bundle branch reentrant ventricular tachycardia and supraventricular tachycardias associated with hemodynamic collapse, have been identified as arrhythmic culprits in this patient population.

The goal of the EPS ARREST study is to evaluate the diagnostic yield of a standardized invasive electrophysiology study among survivors of SCD when initial investigations fail to identify an underlying etiology.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
100

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

  • Canada
    • Alberta
      • Calgary, Alberta, Canada
        • University of Calgary
    • British Columbia
      • Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
        • University of British Columbia
      • Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
        • British Columbia Children's Hospital
    • Nova Scotia
      • Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
        • QEII Health Sciences Centre
    • Ontario
      • Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
        • Hamilton Health Sciences
      • London, Ontario, Canada, N6A 5A5
        • London Health Sciences Centre
      • Toronto, Ontario, Canada
        • Toronto General Hospital
    • Quebec
      • Montreal, Quebec, Canada
        • Montreal Heart Institute
      • Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
        • Laval University
  • Israel
      • Tel-Aviv, Israel
        • Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center
  • United States
    • California
      • Los Angeles, California, United States, 90095
        • UCLA Medical Center
      • San Diego, California, United States, 92037
        • UC San Diego Health System
      • San Francisco, California, United States, 94143-0124
        • UCSF Medical Center
      • Stanford, California, United States, 94305
        • Stanford University
    • Hawaii
      • Honolulu, Hawaii, United States, 96813
        • Queen's Medical Center
    • Massachusetts
      • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02114
        • Massachusetts General Hospital
    • Minnesota
      • St. Paul, Minnesota, United States, 55101
        • Regions Hospital
    • Oregon
      • Portland, Oregon, United States, 97239
        • Oregon Health & Science University
    • Tennessee
      • Nashville, Tennessee, United States, 37232
        • Vanderbilt University Medical Center
    • Utah
      • Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, 84132
        • University of Utah
    • Virginia
      • Falls Church, Virginia, United States, 22042
        • Inova Heart and Vascular Institute

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Survivors of unexplained sudden cardiac death for whom an underlying etiology remains unclear following a standard diagnostic workup, including 12-lead surface ECG, coronary artery assessment, echocardiography, cardiac MRI with late gadolinium enhancement, procainamide challenge, and exercise treadmill testing.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Unexplained cardiac arrest requiring cardioversion or defibrillation
  2. Willing and able to sign informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Coronary artery disease (stenosis > 50%) and clinical findings consistent with an ischemic arrest
  2. Reduced left ventricular function (left ventricular ejection fraction < 50%) on echocardiogram or cardiac MRI.
  3. Persistent resting QTc > 460 msec for males and 480 msec for females
  4. Resting QTc < 350 msec
  5. Type I Brugada ECG with >/= 2 mm ST elevation in V1 and/or V2 (Spontaneous or Drug-Induced)
  6. Polymorphic or bidirectional ventricular tachycardia observed with exertion on exercise treadmill testing
  7. Clinical, electrocardiographic, and/or imaging findings consistent with a diagnosis of arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy
  8. Myocarditis
  9. Reversible cause of cardiac arrest such as marked hypokalemia (<2.8 mmol/l) or drug overdose sufficient in severity without other cause to explain the cardiac arrest.
  10. Arrhythmic mitral valve prolapse syndrome
  11. Documented ventricular fibrillation initiated by a short-coupled premature ventricular contraction

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Group / Cohort

A group or subgroup of participants in an observational study that is assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Unexplained Aborted Cardiac Arrest
Survivors of sudden cardiac death with no identifiable etiology following initial diagnostic workup.
Procedure: Invasive Electrophysiology Study
Invasive electrophysiology studies will be performed using four catheters placed in the right ventricular apex, the coronary sinus, the His bundle region, and the high right atrium. Standard induction protocols for supraventricular and ventricular arrhythmias will be utilized in the absence and presence of isoproterenol. Long-short ventricular extra-stimuli will also be delivered to screen for bundle branch reentrant ventricular tachycardia. The study is considered observational as the participating sites perform electrophysiology studies in this patient population as part of standard clinical care.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Arrhythmic culprit for aborted cardiac arrest
Time Frame: Assessed immediately upon testing
Identification of an arrhythmic culprit for aborted cardiac arrest using an invasive electrophysiology study.
Assessed immediately upon testing

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Prevalence of bundle branch reentrant ventricular tachycardia
Time Frame: Assessed immediately upon testing
Prevalence of bundle branch reentrant ventricular tachycardia among survivors of unexplained cardiac arrest.
Assessed immediately upon testing
Prevalence of supraventricular tachycardia associated with hemodynamic collapse
Time Frame: Assessed immediately upon testing
Prevalence of inducible supraventricular tachycardia during invasive electrophysiology study among survivors of unexplained cardiac arrest.
Assessed immediately upon testing
Prevalence of a latent/cryptic accessory pathway
Time Frame: Assessed immediately upon testing.
Prevalence of a latent/cryptic accessory pathway among survivors of unexplained cardiac arrest.
Assessed immediately upon testing.

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Western University, Canada

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Jason D Roberts, MD MAS, Western University
  • Study Director: Andrew D Krahn, MD, University of British Columbia
  • Study Director: Melvin M Scheinman, MD, University of California, San Francisco

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
May 1, 2017

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
June 1, 2025

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
June 1, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
March 2, 2017

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
March 8, 2017

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
March 14, 2017

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
June 15, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 11, 2025

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
June 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 108939

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

There is no current plan to share IPD with other researchers.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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