ABSTRACT
Objective:
Preeclampsia is an important cause of maternal and fetal mortality and morbidity worldwide. P-wave dispersion (Pd) and QT interval dispersion (QTd) are direct measures of the nonhomogenity of atrial depolarization and ventricular repolarization, respectively, in electrocardiography (ECG). Recent studies have reported a significant role of prolonged Pd and QTd in various cardiovascular diseases. Because the effect of acute pressure overload, which occurs in a preeclamptic setting, on the intra- and/or interatrial and ventricular conduction times remains unknown, we aimed to investigate the relation of Pd and QTd with the presence and severity of preeclampsia.
Methods:
Forty-eight consecutive pregnant women with preeclampsia and 55 healthy, age-matched pregnant women were included in this retrospective study between January and September 2015. The pregnant women with preeclampsia were divided into two groups according to disease severity as follows: mild and severe preeclampsia. A 12-lead ECG was performed for all the pregnant women before cesarean section operation.
Results:
Compared with the healthy pregnant women, Pd and QTd were significantly prolonged in patients with preeclampsia. Moreover, in the subgroups of preeclampsia, Pd was significantly increased in the severe group. Pd and QTd were directly related to systolic and diastolic blood pressure, which are well-known validated indicators for the severity of preeclampsia.
Conclusion:
Preeclampsia triggers an alteration of atrial depolarization and ventricular repolarization, which are evidenced by the prolongation of ECG parameters such as Pd and QTd. ECG is a noninvasive, easy to use, and easily available diagnostic tool, which can be used in the assessment of atrial and ventricular electrical activity in pregnant women with preeclampsia.
