Atrial conduction abnormalities in patients with psoriasis vulgaris.
BACKGROUND
Psoriasis vulgaris is one of the most common chronic inflammatory skin disorders. Patients with psoriasis are at risk of developing atrial fibrillation (AF). The electromechanical delay (EMD) is the time interval from the onset of the P wave on surface electrocardiography (ECG) to the beginning of the A wave. Prolonged atrial EMD is an independent risk factor for the development of AF.


OBJECTIVE
This study investigated the intra- and interatrial EMD in patients with psoriasis.


METHODS
This study included 85 adults with psoriasis vulgaris (Group 1) and 46 age- and sex-matched healthy individuals (Group 2). ECGs were obtained from all subjects, and atrial EMD variables were calculated. Results are reported as means ± standard deviations and percentages. Continuous variables were analysed using Student's t-test. A p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.


RESULTS
Interatrial electromechanical delay (IA-EMD) and intra-left atrial electromechanical delay (ILA-EMD) were significantly longer in the psoriasis group compared with controls. A correlation analysis between psoriasis severity (PASI score) and the atrial conduction parameters revealed a significant positive correlation between PASI and IA-EMD (r = 0.261, p < 0.001). In addition, there was a positive correlation between high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and IA-EMD (p = 0.022).


CONCLUSIONS
The atrial conduction time was longer in patients with psoriasis vulgaris and it correlated with the severity of disease and hsCRP. Since the association between delayed conduction and AF is known, the measurement of intra-atrial conduction times could be a practical tool to estimate the AF risk in these patients.
Abdurrahman
A
Tasal
Tolga Sinan
TS
Guvenc
Bezmialem Vakif University,Faculty of Medicine, Cardiology Department,Istanbul-TURKEY. doktorseref@hotmail.com.
Seref
S
Kul
Ahmet
A
Bacaksiz
Ercan
E
Erdogan
Osman
O
Sonmez
Emrah
E
Sevgili
Didem
D
Dizman
Nahide
N
Onsun
Nuray K
NK
Ay
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006325:Heart Atria / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006329:Heart Conduction System / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011565:Psoriasis / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D012307:Risk Factors; D055815:Young Adult
D002097:C-Reactive Protein