RISK PREDICTION FOR ARRHYTHMIA IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE

The aim: To evaluate P-wave dispersion (PwD), as an independent predictor of atrial fibrillation, corrected QT interval dispersion (cQTD), the noninvasive marker of ventricular arrhythmia and sudden cardiac death, investigate the atrial electromechanical delay in patients with COPD and assess their relation with the severity of the disease.

Materials and methods: We prospectively enrolled consecutive patients with newly diagnosed COPD (n = 53, age 41.2 ± 6.8 years), compared with an age-matched healthy control group (n = 51, age 40.9 ± 6.5 years). A standard 12-lead electrocardiogram of each patient was analyzed for PwD and сQTD. Atrial electromechanical delay was analyzed by echocardiographic tissue Doppler imaging. The difference between PAs-PAl, PAs-PAt, and PAl-PAt were defined as left intra-atrial, right intra-atrial, and interatrial electromechanical delays (EMD), respectively.

Results: PwD was higher in COPD patients than in control subjects (39.47 ± 3.12 ms vs. 30.29 ± 3.17 ms, p < 0.05). In comparison between control group and COPD subgroups (mild, moderate and severe), there was a statistically significant difference among these free groups in terms of PwD. Subgroup analyses showed that this difference was mainly due to patients with severe COPD. Regarding cQTD, there was a statistically significant increase in COPD patients 57.92 ± 3.43 ms vs 41.03 ± 5.21 ms, p < 0.05 respectively. PAs, PAl and PAt durations, right intra-atrial and interatrial EMD were also significantly longer in COPD patients (p < 0.05). Furthermore, there were significant negative correlations between FEV1 and PwD (r = - 0.46, p < 0.05), right intra-atrial (r = - 0.39 ms, p < 0.05), interatrial EMD ( r = - 0.35 ms, p < 0.05) and cQTD (r = - 0.32, p < 0.05).

Conclusions: Atrial conduction time, such as inter- and intra-atrial EMD intervals, PwD and cQTD were longer than in healthy controls and correlated with the severity of COPD. These parameters offer a non-invasive and cost-effective assessment method for detecting patients at high risk of arrhythmia. Nevertheless, further prospective investigations on this issue are required.