Tissue Doppler-derived atrial dyssynchrony predicts new-onset atrial fibrillation during hospitalization for ST-elevation myocardial infarction.

Background: Atrial dyssynchrony, but not atrial enlargement/dysfunction, reflects acute atrial histopathological changes. It has been shown to be associated with new-onset atrial fibrillation (NOAF) in various clinical conditions but was not studied in the acute phase of ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) which is the aim of the current study.

Methods: A total of 440 STEMI patients underwent primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and were monitored for NOAF during hospitalization.