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Background: Patients with impaired left ventricular function have a high risk of developing ventricular arrhythmias and sudden death. Among different markers of risk, the prolongation and regional heterogeneity of repolarization are of increasing interest. However, there are limited data regarding feasibility of analyzing repolarization parameters and their dynamics in 24‐hour Holter ECG recordings.

Methods: Dynamic behavior of repolarization parameters was studied with a new automatic algorithm in digital 24‐hour Holter recordings of 60 healthy subjects and 55 patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDC). Repolarization parameters included the mean value of QT and QTc durations, QT dispersion, and peaks of QT duration and QT dispersion above prespecified thresholds.

Results: In comparison to healthy subjects, patients with IDC had lower heart rate variability, longer mean QT and QTc durations …