Brugada syndrome: recent advances and controversies.

The Brugada syndrome, first described as a new clinical entity in 1992, is widely recognized today as a form of inherited sudden cardiac arrest. The past 16 years witnessed a progressive increase in the number of reported cases and a dramatic proliferation of articles serving to define the clinical, genetic, cellular, ionic, and molecular aspects of the disease. This article provides a brief overview of recent advances in our understanding of the clinical presentation and molecular and cellular mechanisms and an update of existing controversies.