Atrial activation during sinus rhythm in patients with rheumatic and non-rheumatic paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. Frequency-domain analysis using signal-averaged electrocardiography

Autor: Rogério Carregoza Dantas, Eduardo Corrêa Barbosa, P. R. Benchimol-Barbosa, Alfredo de Souza Bomfim, Paulo Ginefra
Jazyk: English<br />Portuguese
Rok vydání: 2001
Předmět:
Zdroj: Arquivos Brasileiros de Cardiologia, Vol 77, Iss 5, Pp 434-438 (2001)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 0066-782X
1678-4170
DOI: 10.1590/S0066-782X2001001100004
Popis: OBJECTIVE: Using P-wave signal-averaged electrocardiography, we assessed the patterns of atrial electrical activation in patients with idiopathic atrial fibrillation as compared with patterns in patients with atrial fibrillation associated with structural heart disease. METHODS: Eighty patients with recurrent paroxysmal atrial fibrillation were divided into 3 groups as follows: group I - 40 patients with atrial fibrillation associated with non-rheumatic heart disease; group II - 25 patients with rheumatic atrial fibrillation; and group III - 15 patients with idiopathic atrial fibrillation. All patients underwent P-wave signal-averaged electrocardiography for frequency-domain analysis using spectrotemporal mapping and statistical techniques for detecting and quantifying intraatrial conduction disturbances. RESULTS: We observed an important fragmentation in atrial electrical conduction in 27% of the patients in group I, 64% of the patients in group II, and 67% of the patients in group III (p=0.003). CONCLUSION: Idiopathic atrial fibrillation has important intraatrial conduction disturbances. These alterations are similar to those observed in individuals with rheumatic atrial fibrillation, suggesting the existence of some degree of structural involvement of the atrial myocardium that cannot be detected with conventional electrocardiography and echocardiography.
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