title: Fibrillatory wave size in paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.
abstract: Little attention has been paid to the atrial fibrillatory waves (f waves) in paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. The present study attempted (1) to compare the f wave size in paroxysmal atrial fibrillation with that in persistent fibrillation, and (2) to examine whether the f wave size can predict the development of persistent from paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. The size of the f waves was measured in 60 patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation of non-rheumatic etiology (group A), 87 patients with persistent atrial fibrillation of non-rheumatic etiology (group B), and 34 patients with persistent atrial fibrillation of rheumatic etiology (group C). The f wave size in group A was 1.1 +/- 0.1 mm (mean +/- SE) which was significantly smaller than 1.6 +/- 0.1 mm in group B and 2.2 +/- 0.2 mm in group C (p less than 0.01, respectively). Among patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, persistent atrial fibrillation developed in 9 of 19 patients (47.4%) with f wave size of 1.2 mm or more, and only in 5 of 41 patients (12.2%) with f wave size of less than 1.2 mm. These results indicate that paroxysmal atrial fibrillation generally has smaller f waves than persistent atrial fibrillation, but that the presence of larger f waves indicates potential development of persistent atrial fibrillation.
mesh_terms: D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000150:complications; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications; D008875:Middle Aged; D012214:Rheumatic Heart Disease / Q000150:complications