Abstract
Objectives: To investigate the prevalence of interatrial block (IAB) among mitral stenosis (MS) patients and its association with the development of systemic embolism.
Setting: Tabriz, Iran.
Participants: This cross-sectional observational study was conducted on 159 patients with (n=18) or without (n=141) systemic thromboembolism.
Outcome Measures: Prevalence of systemic thromboembolism, partial/advanced IAB, and P-wave dispersion.
Results: IAB was detected in 99 patients (62.26%), of whom 16.35% had advanced block, and 45.91% had partial block. The mitral valve area was comparable between the groups (P=0.639). The multivariate regression analysis demonstrated that the appearance of IAB in the electrocardiogram was independently associated with the occurrence of systemic thromboembolism in patients with MS. In addition, the appearance of advanced IAB in patients increased the odds of systemic thromboembolism about 5-fold compared with those without IAB (OR: 5.21; 95% CI: 1.23–22.07) and more than 3-fold higher compared to those with partial IAB (OR: 3.73; 95% CI: 1.04–13.37).
Conclusions: It was revealed that advanced IAB in patients with MS and sinus rhythm is an independent risk factor for systemic thromboembolic events. Therefore, future studies can evaluate the feasibility and efficiency of preventing thromboembolic treatment to reduce mortality and morbidity in these patients.