| 1. |
- Axelsson, Karl-Jonas, et al.
(författare)
-
Adaptation of ventricular repolarization dispersion during heart rate increase in humans: A roller coaster process.
- 2021
-
Ingår i: Journal of electrocardiology. - : Elsevier BV. - 1532-8430 .- 0022-0736. ; 68, s. 90-100
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Regional differences in ventricular activation sequence and action potential duration and morphology result in dispersion in ventricular repolarization (VR). VR dispersion is a key factor in arrhythmogenesis. We studied the adaptation of global VR dispersion in humans during normal and abnormal ventricular activation, and the relation to the QT adaptation (hysteresis).We measured global VR dispersion as T amplitude, T area, and ventricular gradient (VG), using continuous Frank vectorcardiography, in response to abrupt and sustained atrial (AP) or ventricular pacing (VP) aiming at 120 bpm, in 21 subjects with permanent pacemakers.Following pacing start, VR adaptation showed an initially rapid and complex tri-phasic pattern, most pronounced for T amplitude. There were major differences in the patterns of VR dispersion adaptation following abrupt AP vs VP, confirming that the adaptation pattern is activation dependent. In response to AP, an instantaneous decrease in VR dispersion occurred, followed by an increase and then a slow decrease, all at a lower level than baseline. In contrast, following VP there was an immediate increase to ~4× baseline in T amplitude and T area (but not in VG), with a subsequent biphasic adaptation lasting longer during VP than AP. The initial rapid changes occurred within the time for QT adaptation to reach steady-state.Our results corroborate and expand data from animal and invasive human studies, showing similarities of the adaptation pattern on different scales. The initial rapidly changing VR adaptation phase presumably reflects a window of increased vulnerability to arrhythmias.
|
|
| 2. |
- Axelsson, Karl-Jonas, et al.
(författare)
-
Adaptation of ventricular repolarization duration and dispersion during changes in heart rate induced by atrial stimulation.
- 2020
-
Ingår i: Annals of noninvasive electrocardiology : the official journal of the International Society for Holter and Noninvasive Electrocardiology, Inc. - : Wiley. - 1542-474X. ; 25:3
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The duration of ventricular repolarization (VR) and its spatial and temporal heterogeneity are central elements in arrhythmogenesis. We studied the adaptation of VR duration and dispersion and their relationship in healthy human subjects during atrial pacing.Patients 20-50 years of age who were scheduled for ablation of supraventricular tachycardia without preexcitation but otherwise healthy were eligible. Vectorcardiography recordings with Frank leads were used for data collection. Incremental atrial pacing from a coronary sinus electrode was performed by decrements of 10ms/cycle from just above sinus rate, and then kept at a fixed heart rate (HR) just below the Wenckebach rate for ≥5min and then stopped. VR duration was measured as QT and VR dispersion as T area, T amplitude and ventricular gradient. The primary measure (T90 End) was the time to reach 90% change from baseline to the steady state value during and after pacing.A complete study protocol was accomplished in 9 individuals (6 women). VR duration displayed a monophasic adaptation during HR acceleration lasting on average 20s. The median (Q1-Q3) T90 End for QT was 85s (51-104), a delay by a factor >4. All dispersion measures displayed a tri-phasic response pattern during HR acceleration and T90 End was 3-5 times shorter than for VR duration.Even during close to "physiological" conditions, complex and differing response patterns in VR duration and dispersion measures followed changes in HR. Extended knowledge about these responses in disease conditions might assist in risk evaluation and finding therapeutic alternatives.
|
|
| 3. |
- Axelsson, Karl-Jonas, et al.
(författare)
-
Adaptation of ventricular repolarization time following abrupt changes in heart rate: comparisons and reproducibility of repeated atrial and ventricular pacing.
- 2021
-
Ingår i: American journal of physiology. Heart and circulatory physiology. - : American Physiological Society. - 1522-1539 .- 0363-6135. ; 320:1, s. H381-H392
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Adequate adaptation of ventricular repolarization (VR) duration to changes in heart rate (HR) is important for cardiac electromechanical function and electrical stability. We studied the QT and QTpeak adaptation in response to abrupt start and stop of atrial and ventricular pacing on two occasions with an interval of at least 1 mo in 25 study subjects with permanent pacemakers. Frank vectorcardiography was used for data collection. Atrial or ventricular pacing was performed for 8 min aiming at a cycle length (CL) of 500 ms. We measured the immediate response (IR), the time constant (τ) of the exponential phase, and T90 End, the time to reach 90% change of QT and QTpeak from baseline to steady state during and after pacing. During atrial pacing, the CL decreased on average 45% from mean (SD) 944 (120) to 518 (46) ms and QT decreased on average 18% from 388 (20) to 318 (17) ms. For QT, T90 End was 103 (24) s and 126 (15) s after start versus stop of atrial pacing; a difference of 24 (27) s (P = 0.006). The response pattern was similar for τ but IR did not differ significantly between pacing start and stop. The response pattern was similar for QTpeak and also for QT and QTpeak following ventricular pacing start and stop. The coefficients of variation for repeated measures were 7%-21% for T90 End and τ. In conclusion, the adaptation of VR duration was significantly more rapid following increasing than decreasing HR and intraindividually a relatively reproducible process.NEW & NOTEWORTHY We studied the duration of ventricular repolarization (VR) adaptation and its hysteresis, following increasing and decreasing heart rate by abrupt start and stop of 8-min atrial or ventricular pacing in study subjects with permanent pacemakers and repeated the protocol with ≥1 mo interval, a novel approach. VR adaptation was significantly longer following decreasing than increasing heart rate corroborating previous observations. Furthermore, VR adaptation was intraindividually a reproducible and, hence, robust phenomenon, a novel finding.
|
|
| 4. |
- Bengtsson, Karin, et al.
(författare)
-
Cardiac conduction disturbances in patients with ankylosing spondylitis : results from a 5-year follow-up cohort study
- 2019
-
Ingår i: RMD Open. - : BMJ Publishing Group Ltd. - 2056-5933. ; 5:2
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives: To describe electrocardiographic (ECG) development in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and identify associations between baseline characteristics and cardiac conduction disturbances (CCD) at 5-year follow-up.Methods: In a longitudinal cohort study, 172 patients (54% men, mean age (SD) of 50 (13) years at baseline) with AS underwent ECG, physical examination, questionnaires and laboratory testing at baseline and at 5-year follow-up. Descriptive statistics and univariate and age- and sex-adjusted logistic regression analyses were used. CCD included both atrioventricular and intraventricular blocks.Results: Twenty-three of the 172 patients (13.4%) had a CCD at follow-up. Eight patients had developed a new CCD and eight had normalised their ECG. In the age- and sex-adjusted analyses, CCD at baseline (OR 24.8, 95% CI 7.3 to 84.5), male sex (OR 6.4, 95% CI 2.0 to 20.8), history of anterior uveitis (OR 4.4, 95% CI 1.3 to 14.5), higher ASDAS-CRP (OR 2.3, 95% CI 1.3 to 4.0), greater waist circumference (OR 1.3, 95% CI 1.1 to 1.6, per 5 cm), and medication with antiplatelets (OR 7.0, 95% CI 1.5 to 31.8) and beta-blockers (OR 3.4, 95% CI 1.0 to 11.5) were associated with a CCD at follow-up. Higher age and longer symptom duration were highly correlated and were both associated with a CCD at follow-up.Conclusions: The presence of CCD in AS is in part dynamic and associated with both AS and non-AS characteristics. Our results suggest that patients especially prone to present with CCDs are older men with a previous CCD, longer symptom duration, higher AS disease activity, a history of anterior uveitis and medication reflecting cardiovascular disease.
|
|
| 5. |
- Bergfeldt, Lennart, 1950, et al.
(författare)
-
Non-invasive electrophysiological differences between women and men:differences in body size not an explanation.
- 2022
-
Ingår i: American journal of physiology. Heart and circulatory physiology. - : American Physiological Society. - 0363-6135 .- 1522-1539. ; 323:5, s. H996-H1003
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- There are numerous sex-related differences in cardiac electrophysiology and arrhythmia propensity but very little knowledge about the reasons. Difference in body size has been proposed as one reason and was tested in this study of >20 cardiac electrophysiology parameters in 319 (158 women) apparently healthy 50-64 years old subjects from a randomly enrolled population sample, the SCAPIS pilot study (Swedish CArdio-Pulmonary bioImaging Study), using Frank vectorcardiography. We studied conventional conduction intervals, parameters reflecting electrical heterogeneity (dispersion) in the ventricles, QRS- and T-vector directions, spatial QRS-T angles, and T-vector loop morphology. Body surface area (BSA; two methods) and lean body mass (LBM), both estimated from body weight and height, were used as body size parameters. According to multivariable linear regression analysis adjusted for sex, there was no association between electrophysiological parameters and body size apart from QRS duration and QRSarea. In conclusion, most electrophysiological parameters assessed completely non-invasively and showing statistically significant differences between women and men on the group level show no association with BSA or LBM. Scaling (indexing) the electrophysiological parameters for body size parameters are therefore not an option. As a consequence, the explanation for the sex-related electrophysiological differences should be sought along other lines.
|
|
| 6. |
- Bergfeldt, Lennart, 1950, et al.
(författare)
-
Spatial peak and mean QRS-T angles: A comparison of similar but different emerging risk factors for cardiac death.
- 2020
-
Ingår i: Journal of electrocardiology. - : Elsevier BV. - 1532-8430 .- 0022-0736. ; 61, s. 112-120
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The spatial peak and mean QRS-T angles are scientifically but not clinically established risk factors for cardiovascular events including cardiac death. The study aims were to compare these angles, assess their association with hypertension (HT) and diabetes mellitus (DM), and explore the relation between the mean QRS-T angle and the ventricular gradient (VG; reflecting electrical heterogeneity), which both are derived from the QRSarea and Tarea vectors.Altogether 1094 participants (aged 50-65 years, 550 women) from the pilot of the population-based Swedish CArdioPulmonary bioImage Study with Frank vectorcardiographic recordings were included and divided into 5 subgroups: apparently healthy n = 320; HT n = 311; DM n = 33; DM + HT n = 53; miscellaneous conditions n = 377. Abnormal peak and mean QRS-T angles were defined as >95th percentile.Peak QRS-T angles were generally narrower than the mean QRS-T angles; both were narrower in women than in men. Abnormal peak (>124°) and/or mean (>119°) QRS-T angles were found in 73 participants (6.7%). The concordance regarding abnormal versus normal-borderline QRS-T angles was good (Cohen's kappa 0.61). The prevalence of abnormal angles varied from 2.5% in healthy to 21.2% in DM. There was an inverse logarithmical relation between the mean QRS-T angle and the VG.The peak and mean QRS-T angles are not interchangeable but complementary. DM, HT, sex and absence of disease are important determinants of both QRS-T angles. The mean QRS-T angle and the VG relationship is complex. All three VCG derived measures reflect related but differing electrophysiological properties and have potential prognostic value vis-à-vis cardiovascular events.
|
|
| 7. |
- Bergfeldt, Lennart, 1950, et al.
(författare)
-
Ventricular repolarization duration and dispersion adaptation after atropine induced rapid heart rate increase in healthy adults.
- 2017
-
Ingår i: Journal of electrocardiology. - : Elsevier BV. - 1532-8430 .- 0022-0736. ; 50:4
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Proper adaptation of ventricular repolarization (VR) to rapid heart rate (HR) increase is crucial for cardiac electro-mechanical function. The pattern and temporal aspects of this adaptation and its components (duration and dispersion) during normal conduction are, however, incompletely known in humans and were the topic of this study.The VR duration (QT & QTpeak) and dispersion (Tamplitude, Tarea & ventricular gradient; VG) responses were studied by continuous vectorcardiogram after a bolus injection of atropine 0.04mg/kg b.w. in 31 healthy young adults (16 men). The primary measure (T90 End) was the time to reach 90% change from baseline to end value 300s later. Mean (SD) of T90 End was 23 (9) s for a 41% RR decrease, 130 (35) s for a 16% QTend decrease and 110 (36) s for a 19% QTpeak decrease; the response was single-exponential for these measures. For 35-43% decreases of Tamplitude, Tarea & VG, mean (SD) of T90 End were 21 (10), 38 (20) and 40 (23) s and the response pattern was double-exponential with varying overshoot.VR duration and dispersion responses to a very rapid HR increase during normal conduction differed substantially. In contrast to the well-known single-exponential delay in VR duration adaptation the responses of VR dispersion measures were double-exponential and much more rapid. We describe a new and completely non-invasive phenotypic characterization of different components of VR adaptation.
|
|
| 8. |
- Bergfeldt, Ulla, et al.
(författare)
-
Cortical activation changes and improved motor function in stroke patients after focal spasticity therapy- an interventional study applying repeated fMRI.
- 2015
-
Ingår i: BMC neurology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2377. ; 15:1
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Impaired dominant hand function in stroke patients is a common clinical problem. Functional improvement after focal spasticity therapy is well documented but knowledge about central correlates is sparse. Brain activity was therefore followed during therapy with repeated functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The purpose was to analyse motor function and central nervous system (CNS) correlates in response to a standardized motor task in stroke patients after a comprehensive focal spasticity therapy.
|
|
| 9. |
- Dahlberg, Pia, et al.
(författare)
-
Accelerated QT adaptation following atropine-induced heart rate increase in LQT1 patients versus healthy controls: A sign of disturbed hysteresis.
- 2022
-
Ingår i: Physiological reports. - : Wiley. - 2051-817X. ; 10:21
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Hysteresis, a ubiquitous regulatory phenomenon, is a salient feature of the adaptation of ventricular repolarization duration to heart rate (HR) change. We therefore compared the QT interval adaptation to rapid HR increase in patients with the long QT syndrome type 1 (LQT1) versus healthy controls because LQT1 is caused by loss-of-function mutations affecting the repolarizing potassium channel current IKs , presumably an important player in QT hysteresis. The study was performed in an outpatient hospital setting. HR was increased in LQT1 patients and controls by administering an intravenous bolus of atropine (0.04 mg/kg body weight) for 30 s. RR and QT intervals were recorded by continuous Frank vectorcardiography. Atropine induced transient expected side effects but no adverse arrhythmias. There was no difference in HR response (RR intervals) to atropine between the groups. Although atropine-induced ΔQT was 48% greater in 18 LQT1 patients than in 28 controls (p < 0.001), QT adaptation was on average 25% faster in LQT1 patients (measured as the time constant τ for the mono-exponential function and the time for 90% of ΔQT; p < 0.01); however, there was some overlap between the groups, possibly a beta-blocker effect. The shorter QT adaptation time to atropine-induced HR increase in LQT1 patients on the group level corroborates the importance of IKs in QT adaptation hysteresis in humans and shows that LQT1 patients have a disturbed ultra-rapid cardiac memory. On the individual level, the QT adaptation time possibly reflects the effect-size of the loss-of-function mutation, but its clinical implications need to be shown.
|
|
| 10. |
- Dahlberg, Pia, et al.
(författare)
-
Spatio-temporal repolarization dispersion before and after exercise in patients with long QT syndrome type 1 vs controls - probing into the arrhythmia substrate.
- 2023
-
Ingår i: American journal of physiology. Heart and circulatory physiology. - 1522-1539. ; 325:6, s. H1279-H1289
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Congenital long QT syndrome (LQTS) carries an increased risk for syncope and sudden death. QT prolongation promotes ventricular extrasystoles which in the presence of an arrhythmia substrate might trigger ventricular tachycardia degenerating into fibrillation. Increased electrical heterogeneity (dispersion) is the suggested arrhythmia substrate in LQTS. In the most common subtype LQT1, physical exercise predisposes for arrhythmia and spatio-temporal dispersion was therefore studied in this context. Thirty-seven patients (57% on beta-blockers) and 37 healthy controls (mean age 31 vs 35, range 6-68 vs 6-72 years) performed an exercise test. Frank vectorcardiography was used to assess spatio-temporal dispersion as Tamplitude, Tarea, the ventricular gradient (VG), and the Tpeak-end interval from 10s-signal averages before and 7±2 min after exercise; during exercise too much signal disturbance excluded analysis. Baseline and maximum heart rates as well as estimated exercise intensity were similar, but heart rate recovery was slower in patients. At baseline QT and heart rate corrected QT (QTcB) were significantly longer in patients (as expected), while dispersion parameters were numerically larger in controls. After exercise QTpeakcB and Tpeak-endcB increased significantly more in patients (18±23 vs 7±10ms and 12±17 vs 2±6ms; p<0.001 and p<0.01). There was, however, no difference in the change in Tamplitude,Tarea and VG between groups. In conclusion, while temporal dispersion of repolarization increased significantly more after exercise in LQT1 patients, there were no signs of exercise-induced increase in global dispersion of action potential duration and morphology. The arrhythmia substrate/mechanism in LQT1 warrants further study.
|
|
