Prostate Cancer & Brugada Syndrome

[Vynbal]

Almost 3 years ago, while being prepped for surgery for a small bowel obstruction, my ECG showed I was having a 'heart attack' that wasn't. Instead I was later diagnosed with Brugada Syndrome (BrS), a genetic defect of the Sodium channels in the heart that can trigger a Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA). This was all quite a surprise to me, but not much changed for me, other than aggressively treating fever and now having a real reason to think I might just keel over and die at any time.

In the meantime, I was diagnosed this past April w/PCa, and since then I have become a bit obsessed w/following things medical in both domains (PCa & BrS). So I just came across this recent article frontiersin.org/articles/10... a long piece that explores possible interactions between BrS and many other conditions. Square in the middle is a section "Brugada Syndrome, Testosterone, and Prostate Cancer" In the middle of that paragraph is this sentence:

Men with Brugada-like electrocardiogram patterns have a higher risk of prostate cancer independent of age, smoking habit, and radiation exposure, and thus, men with either a Brugada-like ECG or prostate cancer should be checked for the other (145).

Now, since 1/6 men will have PCa and about 1/2500 will have BrS, it makes sense for BrS men to be screened for PCa (that is, even more so than the general population, but that is another rathole). I am not sure that it makes sense for all PCa men to be screened for BrS, since the target is so small. However, any of you PCa guys with a history of syncope (fainting), dizzy spells, Ventricular tachycardia, or resting bradycardia OR with a family history of sudden unexplained death at any age (including SIDS) may want to consider this testing.

Most commonly the first symptom of BrS is SCA. Talk about a surprise!