…genetic testing may be especially important for people younger than 40 without structural heart damage who experience an unexplained sudden cardiac arrest, a near-drowning event or fainting related to exertion.
But genetic testing can be expensive and isn’t appropriate for all patients with ventricular arrhythmias.
In general, genetic testing is most useful if the results would play a role in determining the best treatment for a patient, said Mark Link, M.D., a cardiac electrophysiologist at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. Depending on the results, a patient’s children may also be tested for the gene variant, said Link, who was not involved in writing the new guidelines.
Yet even when there is no treatment for a particular condition, Link said genetic testing may still make it possible to prevent sudden cardiac death. For example, people with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy may choose to have their children tested because sports activities may need to be limited, Link said.
But overall, he said, “genetic testing doesn’t offer much for risk stratification and treatment guidance for most diseases, with the exception of long QT syndrome.”
Patients interested in genetic testing should first undergo genetic counseling to discuss the health, financial and emotional implications of the tests and their potential results, Al-Khatib said.
AHA guidelines offer best practices for health care providers across the nation, based on the latest scientific evidence. The new guidelines for ventricular arrhythmias appear in the journal Circulation.