A study of the association between the prolongation of the QT interval in the resting ECG and myocardial infarction.
The relationship between the incidence of myocardial infarction in the 10 year follow-up period and the length of the QT interval and its two components (the time elapsing between the Q wave and the beginning of the T wave, and the duration of the T wave) was investigated in a study of the records of a group of men drawn from a random sample of all 55-year-old men living in Göteborg, Sweden. A significant association was found between the incidence of myocardial infarction and the first component but not with the second component or the QT interval itself. The two components were found to be independent and thus to have the potential to act as confounding factors if the QT interval is examined alone. Further, our results suggest that correcting the QT interval for heart rate needs careful reassessment.
D001145:Arrhythmias, Cardiac / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008133:Long QT Syndrome / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies