From precordial ECG leads, the conventional determination of the negative derivative of the QRS complex (ND-ECG) assesses epicardial activation. Recently we showed that ultra-high-frequency electrocardiography (UHF-ECG) determines the activation of a larger volume of the ventricular wall. We aimed to combine these two methods to investigate the potential of volumetric and epicardial ventricular activation assessment and thereby determine the transmural activation sequence. We retrospectively analyzed 390 ECG records divided into three groups-healthy subjects with normal ECG, left bundle branch block (LBBB), and right bundle branch block (RBBB) patients. Then we created UHF-ECG and ND-ECG-derived depolarization maps and computed interventricular electrical dyssynchrony. Characteristic spatio-temporal differences were found between the volumetric UHF-ECG activation patterns and epicardial ND-ECG in the Normal, LBBB, and RBBB groups, despite the overall high correlations between both methods. Interventricular electrical dyssynchrony values assessed by the ND-ECG were consistently larger than values computed by the UHF-ECG method. Noninvasively obtained UHF-ECG and ND-ECG analyses describe different ventricular dyssynchrony and the general course of ventricular depolarization. Combining both methods based on standard 12-lead ECG electrode positions allows for a more detailed analysis of volumetric and epicardial ventricular electrical activation, including the assessment of the depolarization wave direction propagation in ventricles.

1st Department of Internal Medicine and Cardioangiology St Anne's University Hospital Brno Brno Czech Republic

Cardiocenter 3rd Faculty of Medicine Charles University and University Hospital Kralovske Vinohrady Prague Czech Republic

Department of Biomedical Engineering Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Communication Brno University of Technology Brno Czech Republic

Department of Physiology Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht Maastricht University Maastricht Netherlands

Faculty of Medicine Masaryk University Brno Czech Republic

Institute of Scientific Instruments The Czech Academy of Sciences Brno Czech Republic

International Clinical Research Center St Anne's University Hospital Brno Brno Czech Republic

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