The association of the amounts of epicardial fat, P wave duration, and PR interval in electrocardiogram.

BACKGROUND

The relationship of epicardial fat and cardiac arrhythmias has been described in many studies. The association of the amounts of epicardial fat and the characteristics of electrocardiogram (ECG) remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the association between the amounts of epicardial fat and the characteristics of ECG.

METHODS

A total of 100 consecutive patients who received multi-detector computer tomography (MDCT) were enrolled. The amounts of epicardial fat, including total heart, total atria, total ventricles, right atrium (RA), right ventricle (RV), left atrium (LA), and left ventricle (LV) regions, were measured. The PR interval in lead II, the P wave duration in lead I, the characteristics of inter-atrial conduction block manifested in ECG, the corrected QT interval (QTc) and the QT dispersion of a 12‑lead ECG were measured manually by a computer caliper.

RESULTS

The PR interval was correlated with the amounts of epicardial fat including total heart, total atria, total ventricles, RA, RV, LA, and LV (R = 0.295, p = 0.003; R = 0.379, p < 0.001; R = 0.284, p = 0.003; R = 0.415, p < 0.001; R = 0.287, p < 0.001; R = 0.33, p < 0.001; R = 0.244, p = 0.014). The P wave duration of lead I was also correlated with the amounts of epicardial fat (R = 0.202, p = 0.043; R = 0.283, p = 0.004; R = 0.225, p = 0.024; R = 0.365, p < 0.001; R = 0.256, p = 0.001; R = 0.20, p = 0.046; R = 0.199, p = 0.048) but the QTc interval and the QT dispersion were not. Inter-atrial conduction block was also associated with the amounts of epicardial fat, including total atria, RA and LA in univariate analysis (odds ratio (OR): 1.04, 95% of confidence interval (CI): 1.01-1.06, p = 0.015; OR: 1.08, 95% CI: 1.02-1.15, p = 0.011; OR: 1.05, 95% CI: 1.01-1.10, p = 0.031). In multivariate analysis of linear regression, the amounts of RA epicardial fat was most significantly associated with the PR interval, and the P wave duration (β value: 1.30, 95% CI: 0.59-2.02, p < 0.001; β value: 0.81, 95% CI: 0.34-1.28, p = 0.001). In multivariate analysis of logistic regression, inter-atrial conduction block was also significantly associated with the amounts of RA epicardial fat (odds ratio (OR): 1.08, 95% CI: 1.02-1.15, p = 0.011).

CONCLUSIONS

The PR interval, P wave duration and inter-atrial conduction block were associated with the amounts of epicardial fat, which might imply an effect for arrhythmogenesis.