Medical Dictionary

Brugada syndrome

noun Bru·ga·da syndrome \ brü-ˈgä-də- \

medical Definition of Brugada syndrome

: an inherited life-threatening cardiac disorder of abnormal heart rhythm that may be marked by episodes of fainting or that may be asymptomatic until ventricular tachycardia results in ventricular fibrillation leading to cardiac arrest or sudden cardiac death

In patients with Brugada syndrome … abnormal electrical signals sporadically stop their hearts from pumping properly.
—Duncan Graham-Rowe, New Scientist, 3 Apr. 2004

Note: Brugada syndrome is typically diagnosed by the presence of an elevated ST segment and partial to complete bundle branch block of the right ventricle. It is inherited as an autosomal dominant trait requiring that only one parent pass on a copy of the defective gene on a chromosome other than a sex chromosome.

Biographical Note for brugada syndrome

Brugada, Pedro (b 1952), and Josep (b 1958), Spanish cardiologists. From 2006 Pedro headed the Heart Rhythm Management Center at the Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel, in Belgium, and from 2007 served as scientific director of the university's cardiovascular division. His brother Josep served as medical director of the Hospital Clinic in Barcelona, Spain, while also heading the Arrhythmia Unit at St. Jordi Cardiovascular Center, also in Barcelona. Although what is now known as Brugada syndrome was first reported among survivors of cardiac arrest in 1989, the Brugada brothers in 1992 were the first to recognize this genetic disease as a distinct clinical entity.