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Review: Diabetes and the QT interval: time for debateQE2 Hospital, Welwyn Garden City, AL7 4HQ, UK, rajeevsr{at}hotmail.com
Department of Diabetes, Glasgow Royal Infirmary, Glasgow, G4 0SF, UK
University of Glasgow, Division of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences, Royal Infirmary, Glasgow, G31 2ER, UK The electrocardiographic QT interval has been extensively studied in ischaemic heart disease. Recently, there has been increasing interest in the relationship between diabetes and QT abnormalities. QT prolongation and increased QTd have been shown to predict cardiac death in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Although there is general agreement that QT interval is affected by cardiac ischaemia, the effect of hyperglycaemia on QT measures is controversial. There are also problems surrounding QTd. First, there is controversy as to whether the measure has any physiological meaning; secondly, there is no universally accepted method of measurement and hence no consensus about the upper limit of normal. Nevertheless, several studies have shown increased QTd in diabetic patients suggesting that assessment of the QT interval could be a cost effective way of stratifying aggressive treatment could be directed appropriately to such patients according to cardiovascular risk so that improve outcome.
Key Words: diabetes mellitus QT prolongation QT dispersion.
The British Journal of Diabetes & Vascular Disease, Vol. 4, No. 3,
146-150 (2004) |
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