Hidradenitis suppurativa and electrocardiographic changes: a cross-sectional population study

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Dermatology
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic inflammatory skin condition linked to metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease.
• Existing research suggests a significant cardiovascular burden in HS patients.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate electrocardiographic (ECG) changes in individuals with HS.
• To assess the association between HS and cardiovascular parameters like heart rate and QRS duration.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from the cross-sectional Danish General Population Study (GESUS) with 404 HS patients and 19,001 controls.
• Analyzed 12-lead resting ECG parameters including heart rate (HR), PR interval, QRS duration, JTc, and QTc intervals.
• Employed unpaired t-tests and ANOVA to compare ECG parameters between HS patients and controls, adjusting for covariates.

Main Results:

• Severe HS was significantly associated with increased resting heart rate (HR) across all models (2.9 bpm higher, P=0.01).
• Mean QRS duration was significantly shorter in mild HS patients, but not in moderate or severe HS groups.
• Adjusting for multivariates, no significant difference in overall HR was found between HS patients and controls (0.3 bpm).

Conclusions:

• Mean resting heart rate (HR) is significantly higher in patients with severe hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) compared to controls.
• Elevated resting HR in severe HS patients is a potentially important, testable, and intervenable finding given its association with cardiovascular mortality.
• Further research into ECG changes in HS may reveal critical insights into cardiovascular risk stratification.