P-Wave Dispersion And Atrial Electromechanical Delay In Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Background: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a group of inflammatory diseases that occur with excessive immune response against various antigens or environmental factors in sensitive individuals. Atrial electro-mechanic delay (EMD) was suggested as an early marker of atrial fibrillation in previous studies. The objectives of this study were to evaluate atrial electromechanical properties measured by tissue doppler imaging and simultaneous electrocardiography (ECG) tracing in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.Materials and methods: Thirty-five patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and 21 healthy volunteers, matched for age and sex, were enrolled in the study. Atrial electromechanical properties were measured by using transthoracic echocardiography and surface ECG. P wave dispersion (PWD), interatrial electro-mechanic delay (EMD), left intraatrial EMD, right intraatrial EMD were calculated.Results: A total of 35 patients with IBD (54% males; 19 with ulcerative colitis, 16 with Crohn's disease, mean age 43.97 +/- 13.98 years) were included in the study. In the patient group, PWD was longer and the P min time was shorter as compared to the control group. Both interatrial (lateral-tricuspid-PA) and left intraatrial (lateral-septal-PA) EMD times were longer in the patient group.Conclusion: In patients with IBD, PWD, interatrial EMD and left intraatrial EMD were prolonged as compared to the control group. As IBD patients have predisposition to atrial arrhythmic events, those parameters may be used to predict high-risk individuals.