[Enhanced atrial ECG and its characteristics in atrial fibrillation]

A method of recording intensified atrial ECG (IAECG) is described. A total of 150 subjects were examined by this technique including 60 with the normal sinus rhythm and 90 with atrial fibrillation. A certain homogeneity between P atrial waves and the intensified waves of atrial fibrillation was observed over time in the same patients in the presence of prominent heterogeneity of individual types of atrial fibrillation. Characteristic features of the atrial complexes revealed in patients with atrial fibrillation may be of importance for the differential diagnosis, as well as for the assessment and prediction of therapy efficacy. They also appear to be essential in solving a number of theoretical questions concerned with the genesis of both atrial fibrillation and other heart rhythm irregularities.