QT dispersion and cardiac involvement in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

To investigate the dispersion of repolarization variables in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Electrocardiography (ECG) and Doppler echocardiography were performed on 40 patients with RA, which were divided into two groups according to the duration of disease and in 48 healthy controls.

All patients had significantly longer QT dispersion (QTd) and corrected QT dispersion (QTc-d) values (p<0.05). The mean values of diastolic function variables were significantly different in all patients compared to healthy controls (p<0.05). There were no statistically significant differences between patient groups in terms of diastolic function variables except IVRT. However, QTd and QTc-d were significantly longer in patients with disease duration over 5 years (p<0.05).

We conclude that repolarization heterogeneity and diastolic dysfunction are commonly seen in RA, and QTd is significantly longer in those patients with a disease duration over 5 years compared to those with new onset RA.