title: Familial Mediterranean Fever is associated with abnormal ventricular repolarization indices.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Cardiac arrhythmias can be a part of cardiovascular involvement in some rheumatic diseases, but data about familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) are conflicting.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To search for abnormalities in ventricular repolarization indices in FMF patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seventy seven FMF patients and 30 age/gender comparable healthy controls were included. All patients were attack free and subjects with disease or drugs that are known to alter cardiac electrophysiology were excluded. Electrocardiographic data were obtained and analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twelve FMF patients had amyloidosis. QT and QTc intervals were within the normal ranges and similar between FMF patients and healthy controls. QT dispersion, peak to end interval of T wave (Tpe), Tpe/QT and Tpe/QTc ratios were significantly higher in FMF patients than in healthy controls. Patients with amyloidosis had significantly higher QT dispersion, Tpe, Tpe/QT and Tpe/QTc than their counterparts without FMF. Levels of proteinuria were moderately correlated with QT dispersion, Tpe, Tpe/QT and Tpe/QTc.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  FMF patients may have an increased risk for arrhythmias.
authors.forename: Elbis
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ahbap
authors.forename: Tamer
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sakaci
authors.forename: Ekrem
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kara
authors.forename: Tuncay
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sahutoglu
authors.forename: Semi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ozturk
authors.forename: Taner
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Basturk
authors.forename: Yener
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Koc
authors.forename: Mustafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sevinc
authors.forename: Cuneyt
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Akgol
authors.forename: Zuhal Atan
authors.initials: ZA
authors.lastname: Ucar
authors.forename: Arzu Ozdemir
authors.initials: AO
authors.lastname: Kayalar
authors.forename: Feyza Bayraktar
authors.initials: FB
authors.lastname: Caglayan
authors.forename: Seyfettin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gurbuz
authors.forename: Abdulkadir
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Unsal
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000686:Amyloidosis / Q000150:complications*; D001145:Arrhythmias, Cardiac / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004562:Electrocardiography; D010505:Familial Mediterranean Fever / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male