UTICA — Scientists at the Masonic Medical Research Laboratory have found a new genetic basis for abnormal heart rhythms that can cause sudden cardiac arrest, according to research being made public today.

The potential benefit is better diagnosis and treatment of a potentially fatal condition, the laboratory said.

The discovery is reported in the current issue of a cardiology journal called "Circulation" that is published by the American Heart Association.

Dr. Charles Antzelevitch and a team of investigators and collaborators from Canada and Europe studied records of three families with a history of sudden cardiac death.

Laboratory scientists say that while the heart is a mechanical pump, each heart beat is initiated by electrical activity. Affected family members were all found to have mutations in genes that caused a smaller-than-normal electrical current in the heart.

This creates an imbalance that can result in potentially fatal abnormal heart rhythms. The technical term for this experience is cardiac arrhythmias.

Antzelevitch is executive director and director of research at the Masonic laboratory. His research demonstrates that two distinct sudden death syndromes can both come into play because of the gene mutations.

"By combining the two malfunctioning electrical features, (this) presents a situation of double jeopardy," a laboratory press release said.

The benefit of the research is an opportunity for better diagnosis and treatment of inherited sudden death syndromes that affect infants, children and young adults, Antzelevitch said. Previous research at the laboratory has made connections between genetic defects and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, commonly called SIDS.

But more work needs to be done, the laboratory's press release said.

"We are at the tip of the iceberg and have a great deal to learn before we can routinely use genetic screening to identify children and adults at risk for sudden cardiac arrest," Antzelevitch said. "We can look forward to dramatic advances in the months and years ahead."