A comparison of P-wave duration and dispersion in patients with short-term and long-term atrial fibrillation

This study compared P-wave duration and dispersion (PD) in patients with short-term (≤48 hours) and long-term (>48 hours) atrial fibrillation (AF) after cardioversion. We studied 96 consecutive patients with short-term (group A; n:51, age: 61 ± 11 years) and long-term AF (group B; n:45, age: 64 ± 10 years). P-wave measurements were calculated from 12-lead electrocardiogram. There was no difference related to clinical characteristics. Left atrial dimension was significantly higher in group B ( P = .003). P maximum (124 ± 12 vs. 113 ± 11 ms, P = .001) and PD (57 ± 8 vs. 49 ± 9 ms, P = .001) were also significantly longer in group B compared with group A, but P minimum did not. In univariate analysis, PD were related to AF duration ( P = .002) and left atrial size ( P = .02). This relation remained in multivariate analysis ( P = .01, P = .02, respectively). P maximum >112 ms and PD >47 ms had accuracy values of 74% and 83% respectively for separating group B. Our results suggest that P wave duration and dispersion is prolonged in patients with long-term AF compared to short-term AF.