Observational Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2019. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Apr 26, 2019; 7(8): 940-950
Published online Apr 26, 2019. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v7.i8.940
Association between ventricular repolarization variables and cardiac diastolic function: A cross-sectional study of a healthy Chinese population
Zhi-Dan Li, Xiao-Juan Bai, Lu-Lu Han, Wen Han, Xue-Feng Sun, Xiang-Mei Chen
Zhi-Dan Li, Xiao-Juan Bai, Lu-Lu Han, Wen Han, Department of Gerontology and Geriatrics, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang 110004, Liaoning Province, China
Xue-Feng Sun, Xiang-Mei Chen, Department of Kidney, General Hospital of Chinese People’s Liberation Army, Beijing 100853, China
Author contributions: Li ZD analyzed the data and drafted the manuscript; Bai XJ designed the manuscript and approved the manuscript for final submission; Han LL and Han W measured some important parameters; Sun XF and Chen XM participated in the coordination of the study; all authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Supported by the National Basic Research Program of China, No. 973-Program #2007CB507405.
Institutional review board statement: The study was approved by the ethics committee of General Hospital of Chinese People’s Liberation Army (Beijing, China).
Informed consent statement: All patients gave informed consent.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement-checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement-checklist of items.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Xiao-Juan Bai, PhD, Professor, Department of Gerontology and Geriatrics, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, 36 Sanhao Street, Shenyang 110004, Liaoning Province, China. xiaojuan_bai@126.com
Telephone: +86-24-62043437 Fax: +86-24-62043437
Received: December 26, 2018
Peer-review started: December 27, 2018
First decision: March 10, 2019
Revised: March 28, 2019
Accepted: April 9, 2019
Article in press: April 9, 2019
Published online: April 26, 2019
Processing time: 121 Days and 16.1 Hours
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background

Asymptomatic diastolic dysfunction present for a significant period of time before developing into symptomatic heart failure (HF), and diastolic electromechanical coupling may represent a unifier linking diastolic dysfunction, calcium handling, and repolarization abnormalities with the development of symptomatic HF. We assessed the relationship between ventricular repolarization variables, such as the QT interval, Tpe interval and Tpe/QT ratio, and diastolic function in an apparently healthy Chinese population through a community-based cross-sectional study.

Research motivation

Some studies have reported that electrical repolarization abnormalities are associated with declining diastolic function in patients with suspected HF, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus. However, diseases such as hypertension and diabetes mellitus influence both heart structure and heart function and are powerful potential confounders of electromechanical coupling measurements. Therefore, this study hopes to determine whether measuring repolarization variables may provide information valuable for predicting cardiac diastolic function in healthy people.

Research objectives

The research objective of this study was to explore the relationship between ventricular repolarization variables and cardiac diastolic function in apparently healthy Chinese individuals.

Research methods

We retrospectively analyzed 414 healthy subjects aged 35-91 years who were enrolled between September 2007 and June 2008. All subjects underwent standard 12-lead electrocardiography (ECG) and comprehensive echocardiography. ECG and echocardiography results were analyzed separately and in a blinded fashion. Correlation and regression analyses were applied to determine associations. This study is a community-based cross-sectional study.

Research results

Our research found that even in healthy people, ventricular repolarization variables are associated with cardiac diastolic function parameters. Furthermore, moderate levels of the QTc interval tend to have a protective effect on diastolic dysfunction in men.

Research conclusions

Repolarization variables are associated with cardiac diastolic function even in healthy people. Electromechanical coupling may represent a relationship between heterogeneity of repolarization and abnormal myocardial mechanics.

Research perspectives

We observed an independent association between ventricular repolarization variables and cardiac diastolic function in a community-based cross-sectional study. However, a relatively low number of subjects were included in the study, and the cross-sectional study has its own shortcomings. A longitudinally designed study is required to confirm the current findings.