QT dispersion and P wave dispersion in patients with fibromyalgia

Abstract

Objective: Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic disease characterized by widespread pain. Somatic complaints associated with the cardiovascular system, such as chest pain and palpitations, are frequently seen in FM patients. P and QT dispersions are simple and inexpensive measurements reflecting the regional heterogeneity of atrial and ventricular repolarization, respectively. QT dispersion can cause serious ventricular arrhythmias. The aim of the present study was to evaluate QT dispersion and P wave dispersion in patients with FM.Material and Methods: The study involved 48 FM patients who fulfilled the established criteria and 32 healthy controls (HC). A standard 12-lead electrocardiogram was performed on all participants. QT dispersion was defined as the difference between the longest and the shortest QT intervals. Similarly, the differences between the shortest and longest P waves were defined as P wave dispersion. Results:The QT dispersion and corrected QT dispersion were shorter in the FM group compared with the HC group (p<0.001 for both). In terms of the P wave dispersion value, there was no significant difference between the FM and HC groups (p=0.088).Conclusion: Longer QT and P wave dispersions are not problems in patients with FM. Therefore, it may be concluded that fibromyalgia does not include an increased risk of atrial and/or ventricular arrhythmias.

Prevalence of Fibromyalgia Syndrome and Its Correlations with Arrhythmia in Patients with Palpitations

“…Sarıfakıoğlu et al (11) have also showed that the risk of atrial fibrillation was increased in patients with FMS. In contrast to these data, Yolbas et al (13) reported similar frequencies of arrhythmias in patients with FMS when com- pared with controls. Likewise, we also found no significant correlation between EPS scores and clinical parameters.…”

“…In contrast to these data, Kulshreshtha et al (12) reported that the autonomic reflex arc and cardiac autonomic function were normal in patients with FMS. Yolbas et al (13) also reported that long QT and P wave dispersions, which indirectly indicate atrial and/or ventricular arrhythmias, are seen in the patients with FMS with the same frequency as the controls.…”

Subclinical cardiac structural and electrical abnormalities in fibromyalgia syndrome

“…Although there are studies evaluating the effects of FMS on cardiovascular function, there is a paucity of data about the electrical alterations of conduction that may predict atrial and/or ventricular arrhythmias in FMS patients [6,9,12]. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study evaluating fQRS morphology and inter-and intraatrial EMD in addition to ventricular functions in FMS.…”

“…Impaired atrial conduction is an important step in the pathophysiology of AF. Atrial conduction times can be evaluated with both invasive (electrophysiological study) and noninvasive (Pd on ECG and atrial EMD on echocardiography) methods [12,14,32,33]. Recently, atrial EMD has been extensively used to predict the development of atrial fibrillation.…”

“…Many electrocardiographic and echocardiographic noninvasive parameters have been studied to predict arrhythmias likely to develop in various conditions. Among them, P dispersion (Pd) and QT dispersion (QTd) obtained from surface electrocardiography (ECG) have also been investigated in FMS patients [12,13]. Another parameter, atrial electromechanical delay (EMD) that has been defined as the temporal delay between the onset of electrical activity and the realization of force in the myocardium has been widely studied to predict the risk of atrial fibrillation in various diseases [14,15].…”