title: Assessment of atrial conduction time in patients with Behçet's disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Behçet's disease is characterized by increased inflammatory activity, and there there might be an increased risk of atrial arrhythmia in patients with this disease. Our study is aimed to evaluate a novel method of measuring atrial electromechanical features expressed as interatrial and intraatrial electromechanical delay by tissue Doppler echocardiography in patients with Behçet's disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  We evaluated 57 patients (mean age: 36.3±12.1 years) with Behçet's disease and 34 sex and age matched healthy volunteers (mean age: 38.4±8.6 years) as control group. P-wave dispersion (PWD) was calculated from the 12-lead surface ECG, interatrial and intraatrial electromechanical delay were measured by tissue Doppler imaging and conventional echocardiography.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Interatrial electromechanical delay and intraatrial electromechanical delay were prolonged in patients with active Behçet's disease compared with the patients with inactive disease and the controls (p<0.0001, p<0.0001, p=0.013 and p=0.001, respectively). Erythrocyte sedimentation rate and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein values of of patients with active Behçet's were significantly higher than those with inactive Behçet's disease and the controls (p<0.0001 and p<0.0001, respectively). High-sensitivity C-reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rate were correlated with interatrial electromechanical delay in patients with Behçet's disease (r=0.44, p=0.001 and r=0.64, p<0.0001, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The prolongation of atrial electromechanical conduction might be related with changes in structure and electrophysiological properties of the atrial myocardium or the conduction system in patients with active Behçet's disease.
authors.forename: Mehmet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cansel
authors.forename: Julide
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yagmur
authors.forename: Hakan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Taşolar
authors.forename: Yelda
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Karincaoglu
authors.forename: Necip
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ermis
authors.forename: Nusret
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Acikgoz
authors.forename: Adil
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bayramoglu
authors.forename: Omur
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Otlu
authors.forename: Ferhat
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Eyyüpkoca
authors.forename: Hasan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Pekdemir
authors.forename: Ramazan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ozdemir
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001528:Behcet Syndrome / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D015150:Echocardiography, Doppler; D005260:Female; D006329:Heart Conduction System / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013997:Time Factors