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Heart rate turbulence after atrial premature beats before spontaneous onset of atrial fibrillation

Saila Vikman, MD^*,*, Kai Lindgren, MD, Timo H. Mäkikallio, MD, Sinikka Yli-Mäyry, MD^*, K.E. Juhani Airaksinen, MD and Heikki V. Huikuri, MD, FACC

^* Heart Center, University Hospital of Tampere, Tampere, Finland
Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland

View larger version (26K): [in a new window]   Figure 1 Heart rate turbulence onset (TO) after spontaneous atrial premature beats. The value of TO is significantly less negative during the 1 h preceding atrial fibrillation (AF) than the hourly mean values of the non-AF hours of the recording both in patients with lone AF (left) and in patients with structural heart diseases (right).

View larger version (10K): [in a new window]   Figure 2 Heart rate turbulence onset (TO) after spontaneous atrial premature beats in 15-min periods during the 1 h preceding atrial fibrillation (AF) episode(s). In the subgroup of patients (n = 15; 17 recordings) with at least one atrial ectopic beat in each 15-min period during the hour preceding an AF episode, TO is significantly less negative during the 0- to 15-min period before AF than during the 45- to 60-min period preceding AF.