Relationship between paroxysmal atrial fibrillation and a novel electrocardiographic parameter P wave peak time

The aim of this study was to compare the relationship between a novel electrocardiographic (ECG) parameter P wave peak time (PWPT) and classic P wave parameters with atrial fibrillation (AF).

A total of 140 individuals, including 70 patients with AF history and 70 healthy individuals without AF as the control group were included in the study. These groups were compared in terms of demographic characteristics, laboratory findings and ECG parameters. P wave parameters including; PR interval, P wave dispersion(PWDIS), P wave max duration(PWD) abnormal P wave axis, P-wave terminal force in lead V1 and a novel parameter PWPT were calculated from a 12-lead surface ECG recorded in all patients during sinus rhythm.

PR duration, PWDIS, PWD and PWPT in lead V1 and D2 were found to be longer in AF group compared to the control group. The presence of a P-terminal force in lead 1(V1TF) > 0.04 mm/s and abnormal P wave axis were shown to be significantly more frequent in the AF group. Univariate and multivariate regression analyses revealed independent relationship between the PWPT in lead V1 and AF(OR: 1.09, CI:1.01-1.17, p:0.024). In ROC curve analysis PWPT_V1 above a cut-off level of 49.5msc predicted AF with a sensitivity of 79.4% and a specificity of 56.3% (Area Under Curve(AUC): 0.737, p < 0.001).

In this study, we observed that PWPT_V1 is longer in patients with paroxysmal AF than in controls.