Gender Differences of P Wave Signal Averaged Electrocardiograms: Based on the Risk of Atrial Fibrillation

Background and Objectives: Certain types of arrhythmias have gender differences.Women have a higher incidence of drug-induced QT prolongation than in men.However, there are no reports regarding gender-related differences of the P wave signal averaged electrocardiogram (PWSAE), based on the risk of atrial fibrillation (AF).PWSAE has been recognized as a diagnostic tool for identifying the risk of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF).We therefore investigated the influence of gender in the parameters of PWSAE and in the risk of AF.Subjects and Methods: We recorded 100 PWSAEs in apparently healthy Korean subjects (53 men and 47 women), aged 20 to 79 years.Results: The mean age of the male subjects was 38.2 years and the mean age of the female subjects was 43.2 years (p=0.19).The body surface area (BSA) were larger in men (1.83 m 2 vs. 1.53 m 2 , p<0.05).In men, the filtered P wave duration (fPD) was longer than in women (136.8 msec vs. 125.2msec, p<0.05).The root mean square voltage in the terminal 20 ms of the filtered P wave (RMS20) was 5.9 μV in women and 4.5 μV in men (p<0.05).Conclusion: Men have a longer fPD and lower RMS20 than women.The BSA showed a positive correlation with fPD and a negative correlation with RMS20.This study suggests that BSA is an important factor for fPD and RMS20.In addition, as men have a larger BSA as compared with women, we suspect that men have a higher risk of AF as compared with women.(Korean Circ J 2007;37:656-662)