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Abnormal QT dispersion in Behçet's disease
O Göldeli1, D Ural, B Komsuoğlu
1Department of Cardiology, Kocaeli University, Medical Faculty, Izmit, Turkey.
Insights
Patients with Behçet
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Rheumatology
- Clinical Electrophysiology
Background:
- Behçet's disease is a chronic inflammatory disorder with diverse manifestations.
- Cardiac involvement in Behçet's disease can lead to serious complications, including ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death.
- The mechanisms underlying ventricular arrhythmias in Behçet's disease remain poorly understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of ventricular repolarization dispersion as a diagnostic marker for ventricular arrhythmias in Behçet's disease.
- To assess the risk of sudden cardiac death in patients with Behçet's disease using ECG parameters.
Main Methods:
- The study included 38 patients diagnosed with Behçet's disease and 30 age-matched healthy controls.
- Repolarization dispersion parameters (QTd, QTc-d, JTd, JTc-d) were calculated from 12-lead ECG recordings.
- Statistical analysis was performed to compare dispersion values between patients and controls.
Main Results:
- Behçet's disease patients exhibited significantly increased QT and JT dispersion compared to healthy controls (p < 0.001).
- Specific values for QTd, QTc-d, JTd, and JTc-d were significantly higher in the Behçet's disease group.
- These findings indicate regional inhomogeneity of ventricular repolarization in patients with Behçet's disease.
Conclusions:
- Increased QT and JT dispersion are significant findings in Behçet's disease patients.
- Ventricular repolarization dispersion may serve as a valuable diagnostic tool for assessing arrhythmia risk.
- This study provides a potential explanation for the occurrence of ventricular arrhythmias in Behçet's disease.
Abstract:
Behçet's disease, which was originally described by Hulusi Behçet in 1937, is a generalized chronic inflammatory disease characterized by recurrent oral and genital ulcerations, ocular and dermal manifestations. Cardiac manifestations include pericarditis, myocarditis, conduction system disturbances, coronary arteritis, mitral valve insufficiency, dilated cardiomyopathy, ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death. There is little knowledge about the mechanism of ventricular arrhythmias in Behçet's disease. In this study, we examined the value of dispersion of ventricular repolarization as a diagnostic tool to assess the risk for ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death in Behçet's disease. We examined 38 patients (age: 34 +/- 4.6 years, 20F, 18M) with Behçet's disease and 30 age-matched healthy subjects were selected to serve as the control group. Repolarization dispersion parameters were calculated as the difference between maximal and minimal values of QT, QTc, JT and JTC from 12-lead ECG recordings at 25 or 50 mm/s. We found QTd, QTc-d, JTd and JTc-d intervals of 60.65 +/- 16.1, 78.45 +/- 11.4, 71.51 +/- 18.3 and 92.33 +/- 15.4 ms in Behçet's disease patients, these values in control subjects were 40.1 +/- 9.7, 56.36 +/- 7.5, 41.66 +/- 4.3 and 53.92 +/- 9.2 ms respectively (p < 0.001). Striking increases in QT and JT dispersion indicating regional inhomogeneity of ventricular repolarization were noted in patients with Behçet's disease. This new finding suggests a possible explanation for the presence of ventricular arrhythmias in patients with Behçet's disease.