The paradoxical association of common polymorphisms of the renin-angiotensin system genes with risk of myocardial infarction.

Background: The insertion/deletion polymorphism of the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) and the A1166C polymorphism of the angiotensin-II AT1 receptor (AT1R) have been extensively investigated as possible risk factors for myocardial infarction (MI).

Design And Methods: Genetic association, case-control study, specifically designed to investigate the association of the above-mentioned polymorphisms with risk of MI in a homogeneous, low coronary risk, Caucasian population. The study population consisted of 1603 consecutive patients with acute MI who were recruited from nine clinics, located in three cities, and 699 unrelated adults who were randomly selected from the city catalogues.

P wave analysis indices in young healthy men: data from the digital electrocardiographic study in Hellenic Air Force Servicemen (DEHAS).

P wave analysis from the 12-lead ECG is a recent contribution of noninvasive electrocardiology. P wave analysis indices (maximum and minimum P wave duration, P wave dispersion [Pdis = Pmax-Pmin], adjusted P wave dispersion [APdis = Pdis/square root of measured leads], summated P wave duration [Psum], standard deviation of P wave duration [Psd], mean P wave duration [Pmean]) can predict atrial arrhythmias. However, the definitions of all these indices are based on few studies.

Future concepts in P wave morphological analyses.

The idea of analyzing P wave inscriptions to discriminate between patients with different diseases is not new. Whereas standard approaches deal mainly with an analysis of the duration of the P wave, there is an increasing interest for the P wave morphology. Detailed analysis of the low voltage P wave will require a hardware setup that enables high-quality signal acquisition with low noise interference in combination with an ECG subtraction technique.