Key result
COVID-19 hospitalization is linked to more frequent advanced interatrial block on admission ECG.
Why the study?
COVID-19 is associated with atrial fibrillation and ventricular arrhythmias, but whether surface ECG markers of abnormal interatrial conduction or repolarization are more common in hospitalized COVID-19 patients was unknown.
Does COVID-19 infection increase the frequency of abnormal ECG markers of interatrial conduction and repolarization in hospitalized patients?
Case-Control (n=151)
Does COVID-19 infection increase the frequency of abnormal ECG markers of interatrial conduction and repolarization in hospitalized patients?
Hospitalized COVID-19 patients have a higher likelihood of advanced interatrial block on admission ECG, potentially explaining their increased risk of atrial fibrillation.
May link COVID-19 to higher AF risk via interatrial block; hypothesis-generating and requires prospective validation.
Objective: Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) is associated with atrial fibrillation (AF) and ventricular arrhythmias. Several electrophysiological abnormalities on surface electrocardiography (ECG) are associated with AF and ventricular arrhythmias, either as markers of abnormal interatrial conduction or abnormal repolarization. The present study sought to understand whether such ECG markers are more common in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 infection during the pandemic. Methods: A total of 87 COVID-19 patients formed the study group, whereas 64 patients who were hospitalized for any reason other than COVID-19 infection served as controls. The frequency of partial and advanced interatrial block (IAB), QT and corrected QT (QTc) durations, QT dispersion (QTd), and T peak-to-end duration (Tpe) were measured from ECGs at admission. Results: <1 for all). Conclusions: Patients hospitalized with COVID-19 were more likely to have advanced IAB, which may explain why AF is more frequent in these patients.
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Güvenç et al. (2023) conducted a case-control in COVID-19 (n=151). COVID-19 infection vs. Hospitalization for reasons other than COVID-19 was evaluated on Frequency of partial and advanced interatrial block (IAB), QT and corrected QT (QTc) durations, QT dispersion (QTd), and T peak-to-end duration (Tpe) on admission ECG. Patients hospitalized with COVID-19 (n=87) were more likely to have advanced interatrial block on admission ECG compared to non-COVID-19 controls (n=64).
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