title: Beat-to-beat variability of P-wave in patients suffering from atrial fibrillation.
abstract: The aim of this paper was to analyze the P-wave variability over time in patients suffering from Atrial Fibrillation (AF). Behind some time-domain and morphological features of the P-wave template, two novel indexes of P-wave variability have been estimated: one based on the cross-correlation coefficients among the P-waves (Correlation Index, CI), and one associated to variation of P-waves amplitude (Amplitude Index, AI). These indexes were estimated in two experimental models: patients suffering from persistent AF respect to control subjects and patients developing post-operative AF (POAF) after coronary artery bypass grafting respect to patients without POAF. The control group resulted to be characterized by shorter P-wave duration and by a less amount of fragmentation and variability, respect to AF patients (with a sensitivity and specificity of 98.4% and 95 % respectively). Also P-wave features resulted to be different for patients with POAF respect to patients without. In conclusion the quantification of the P-wave variability over time can add information in the understanding of the association between the anatomical atrial substrate and atrial arrhythmias.
authors.forename: Federica
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Censi
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Calcagnini
authors.forename: Eugenio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mattei
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ricci
authors.forename: Ivan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Corazza
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Reggiani
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Boriani
mesh_terms: D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass / Q000009:adverse effects; D006325:Heart Atria / Q000503:physiopathology; D006329:Heart Conduction System / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D011184:Postoperative Period; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity