title: The effect of statin treatment on P-wave characteristics and atrial conduction time.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of statin treatment on P-wave morphology, dispersion, and tissue Doppler imaging-derived atrial conduction time (PA-TDI), which are known to be predictors of atrial fibrillation (AF).
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 132 patients with guideline-directed statin indications but no clinical atrial tachyarrhythmias were studied. P-wave duration, P-wave dispersion, and P-wave amplitude on surface 12-lead electrocardiogram and PA-TDI were evaluated before and after three months of statin (either atrovastatin 10-40 mg/d or rosuvastatin 10-20 mg/d) treatment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol were significantly reduced after statin therapy. P-wave dispersion significantly decreased from 39.6 ± 9.4 to 36.9 ± 9.6 ms. Statin treatment significantly decreased both the maximum (from 1.5 ± 0.36 to 1.45 ± 0.33 mV, p = 0.001) and the minimum (from 1.07 ± 0.28 to 1.04 ± 0.27 mV, p = 0.01) P-wave amplitude. The PA-TDI value was found to be significantly shorter after statin treatment (121.7 ± 18.7 vs. 118.7 ± 15.8 ms, p = 0.016) CONCLUSIONS: Short-term statin therapy was shown to significantly affect P-wave amplitude, P-wave dispersion, and atrial conduction time in a broad range of patients without any clinical atrial tachyarrhythmia.
authors.forename: Gulten
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tacoy
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Turkiye Yuksek Ihtisas Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey. mkakboga@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Mehmet Kadri
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Akboga
authors.forename: Cagri
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yayla
authors.forename: Ahmet
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Akyel
authors.forename: Sedat
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Turkoglu
authors.forename: Murat
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ozdemir
authors.forename: Ridvan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yalcin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016275:Atrial Function / Q000187:drug effects*; D015150:Echocardiography, Doppler; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D006329:Heart Conduction System / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008077:Lipoproteins, LDL / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
chemical_list: D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors; D008077:Lipoproteins, LDL
keywords: P-wave; atrial conduction time; atrial fibrillation; echocardiography; statins