Abstract
This study was designed to test the hypothesis that myocardial involvement exists in patients with Takayasu arteritis and is associated with increased QT dispersion, which is a marker of repolarization inhomogeneity. Twenty-one consecutive patients with Takayasu arteritis and no significant coronary artery disease were included. Twelve-lead electrocardiogram and exercise-induced thallium-201 myocardial scintigraphy were performed in all patients. Ten of 21 patients (48%) had abnormal findings on scintig raphy. Patients were divided into two groups by the presence (group P, n = 10) or absence (group N, n=11) of exercise-induced thallium-201 myocardial scintigraphic perfusion abnormalities, including permanent defects in three, reversible defects in four, and slow washout in three. The QT dispersion at rest was significantly greater in group P than that in group N (54 ±12 vs 40 ±8 msec, p < 0.005). The QTc dispersion at rest was also significantly greater in group P than in group N (59 ± 15 vs 43 ±11 msec, p<0.01). In patients with Takayasu arteritis, myocardial involvement suggested by exercise-induced thallium-201 myocardial scintigraphic perfusion abnormalities is not rare, even when no significant coronary stenosis is present on angiography. Increased baseline QT dispersion was associated with scintigraphic abnormalities and may be a useful marker of myocardial involvement in patients with Takayasu arteritis.
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