title: Atrial Electromechanical Properties in Inflammatory Bowel Disease.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There is much evidence linking inflammation to the initiation and continuation of atrial fibrillation (AF). Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), including ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD), are chronic systemic inflammatory disorders. Atrial electromechanical delay (EMD) has been known as an early marker of AF. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the atrial electromechanical properties in patients with IBD.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-two patients with IBD and 26 healthy controls were recruited in the study. Twenty-five of patients with IBD were on active period, and the remaining 27 were on remission period. Atrial electromechanical properties were measured by using transthoracic echocardiography and tissue Doppler imaging and simultaneous surface ECG recording. Interatrial EMD, left intraatrial EMD, and right intraatrial EMD were calculated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients on activation with IBD had significantly prolonged left and right intraatrial EMDs and interatrial EMD compared to patients on remission (P = 0.048, P = 0.036, P < 0.001, respectively) and healthy controls (P < 0.001, for all comparisons). Left and right intraatrial EMDs and interatrial EMD were also found to be higher when patients on remission with IBD compared with healthy controls. No statistical difference was observed between UC and CD in terms of inter- and intraatrial EMDs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Atrial electromechanical conduction is prolonged in IBD, and exposure to chronic inflammation may lead to structural and electrophysiological changes in the atrial tissue that causes slow conduction. Measurement of atrial EMD parameters might be used to predict the risk for the development of AF in patients with IBD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Diskapi Yildirim Beyazit Education and Training Hospital, Ankara, Turkey. medisay@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Tolga Han
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Efe
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Diskapi Yildirim Beyazit Education and Training Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Tolga
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Cimen
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Turkiye Yuksek Ihtisas Education and Training Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ahmet Goktug
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Ertem
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Diskapi Education and Training Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Yusuf
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Coskun
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Diskapi Yildirim Beyazit Education and Training Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Murat
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bilgin
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Diskapi Yildirim Beyazit Education and Training Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Haluk Furkan
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Sahan
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Diskapi Yildirim Beyazit Education and Training Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Hilal Erken
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Pamukcu
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Turkiye Yuksek Ihtisas Education and Training Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Cagri
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yayla
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Diskapi Yildirim Beyazit Education and Training Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Hamza
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sunman
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Diskapi Education and Training Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ilhami
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Yuksel
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Diskapi Yildirim Beyazit Education and Training Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ekrem
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Yeter
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004452:Echocardiography / Q000379:methods; D056966:Excitation Contraction Coupling; D005260:Female; D006325:Heart Atria / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006329:Heart Conduction System / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D015212:Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D009200:Myocardial Contraction; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
keywords: Crohn's disease; atrial fibrillation; electromechanical delay; inflammatory bowel disease; ulcerative colitis