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Non-invasive assessment of magnitude and dispersion of atrial cycle length during chronic atrial fibrillation in man

Pehrson, Steen ; Holm, M ; Meurling, Carl LU ; Ingemansson, Max LU ; Smideberg, Birgit LU ; Sörnmo, Leif LU and Olsson, Bertil LU (1998) In European Heart Journal 19(12). p.1836-1844
Abstract
AIMS: Atrial fibrillation cycle lengths can be assessed from right precordial ECG leads and the unipolar oesophageal ECG using a non-invasive method called Frequency Analysis of Fibrillatory ECG. The purpose of this report is to present the results from application of this method in a large group of patients with long-term atrial fibrillation and to examine the differences between patients with 'coarse' and 'fine' atrial fibrillation. METHODS AND RESULTS: Simultaneous 15 min recordings from V1, V2 and an oesophageal lead at a position behind the posterior atrium were obtained in 28 patients, aged 41 to 78 years, with long-term (> 1 month) atrial fibrillation. In each lead, using the time averaging technique, the QRST complexes were... (More)
AIMS: Atrial fibrillation cycle lengths can be assessed from right precordial ECG leads and the unipolar oesophageal ECG using a non-invasive method called Frequency Analysis of Fibrillatory ECG. The purpose of this report is to present the results from application of this method in a large group of patients with long-term atrial fibrillation and to examine the differences between patients with 'coarse' and 'fine' atrial fibrillation. METHODS AND RESULTS: Simultaneous 15 min recordings from V1, V2 and an oesophageal lead at a position behind the posterior atrium were obtained in 28 patients, aged 41 to 78 years, with long-term (> 1 month) atrial fibrillation. In each lead, using the time averaging technique, the QRST complexes were suppressed. Thereafter, the frequency distribution of the residual ECG was estimated by means of Fast Fourier Transform. In the 3-12 Hz range of each lead, the dominant atrial cycle length, the power maximum and the spectral width were calculated. In 26 patients (93%), frequency spectra in the 3-12 Hz range could be obtained. The dominant atrial cycle length ranged from 120 to 175 ms, mean 150+/-16 (SD) ms in V1, and from 120 to 190 ms, mean 150+/-16 in an oesophageal lead (ns). The absolute difference in the dominant atrial cycle length between V1 and the oesophageal lead was 10.4+/-7.7 ms. There was no significant difference in the dominant atrial cycle length in V1 between patients with coarse and fine atrial fibrillation. The power maximum in V1 was significantly greater in patients with coarse compared to fine atrial fibrillation (P=0.01). The spectral widths ranged from 10 to 55 ms and demonstrated significantly higher mean values in lead V2 compared to V1 (P=0.001). Compared to V1, the mean values tended to be smaller in the oesophageal lead (P=0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Using the Frequency Analysis of Fibrillatory ECG method, the dominant atrial cycle length, power maximum and spectral width can be estimated from the frequency spectra in the majority of patients with atrial fibrillation. Spatial dispersion of the dominant atrial cycle length occurs in some patients and may be an important proarrhythmic marker. The distinction between coarse and fine atrial fibrillation cannot be used as a marker of the atrial cycle length. (Less)
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author
; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Atrial cycle length, atrial fibrillation, oesophageal ECG, non-invasive, precordial leads, spectral analysis
in
European Heart Journal
volume
19
issue
12
pages
1836 - 1844
publisher
Oxford University Press
external identifiers
  • pmid:9886727
  • scopus:0032403625
ISSN
1522-9645
DOI
10.1053/euhj.1998.1200
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
7ce211f6-12e0-44b8-8ad5-f3e676bf3581 (old id 1114062)
alternative location
http://eurheartj.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/19/12/1836
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 15:28:38
date last changed
2022-01-28 05:32:37
@article{7ce211f6-12e0-44b8-8ad5-f3e676bf3581,
  abstract     = {{AIMS: Atrial fibrillation cycle lengths can be assessed from right precordial ECG leads and the unipolar oesophageal ECG using a non-invasive method called Frequency Analysis of Fibrillatory ECG. The purpose of this report is to present the results from application of this method in a large group of patients with long-term atrial fibrillation and to examine the differences between patients with 'coarse' and 'fine' atrial fibrillation. METHODS AND RESULTS: Simultaneous 15 min recordings from V1, V2 and an oesophageal lead at a position behind the posterior atrium were obtained in 28 patients, aged 41 to 78 years, with long-term (> 1 month) atrial fibrillation. In each lead, using the time averaging technique, the QRST complexes were suppressed. Thereafter, the frequency distribution of the residual ECG was estimated by means of Fast Fourier Transform. In the 3-12 Hz range of each lead, the dominant atrial cycle length, the power maximum and the spectral width were calculated. In 26 patients (93%), frequency spectra in the 3-12 Hz range could be obtained. The dominant atrial cycle length ranged from 120 to 175 ms, mean 150+/-16 (SD) ms in V1, and from 120 to 190 ms, mean 150+/-16 in an oesophageal lead (ns). The absolute difference in the dominant atrial cycle length between V1 and the oesophageal lead was 10.4+/-7.7 ms. There was no significant difference in the dominant atrial cycle length in V1 between patients with coarse and fine atrial fibrillation. The power maximum in V1 was significantly greater in patients with coarse compared to fine atrial fibrillation (P=0.01). The spectral widths ranged from 10 to 55 ms and demonstrated significantly higher mean values in lead V2 compared to V1 (P=0.001). Compared to V1, the mean values tended to be smaller in the oesophageal lead (P=0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Using the Frequency Analysis of Fibrillatory ECG method, the dominant atrial cycle length, power maximum and spectral width can be estimated from the frequency spectra in the majority of patients with atrial fibrillation. Spatial dispersion of the dominant atrial cycle length occurs in some patients and may be an important proarrhythmic marker. The distinction between coarse and fine atrial fibrillation cannot be used as a marker of the atrial cycle length.}},
  author       = {{Pehrson, Steen and Holm, M and Meurling, Carl and Ingemansson, Max and Smideberg, Birgit and Sörnmo, Leif and Olsson, Bertil}},
  issn         = {{1522-9645}},
  keywords     = {{Atrial cycle length; atrial fibrillation; oesophageal ECG; non-invasive; precordial leads; spectral analysis}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{12}},
  pages        = {{1836--1844}},
  publisher    = {{Oxford University Press}},
  series       = {{European Heart Journal}},
  title        = {{Non-invasive assessment of magnitude and dispersion of atrial cycle length during chronic atrial fibrillation in man}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1053/euhj.1998.1200}},
  doi          = {{10.1053/euhj.1998.1200}},
  volume       = {{19}},
  year         = {{1998}},
}