The Electrocardiographic P Terminal Force in Lead V1, Its Components and the Association with Stroke and Atrial Fibrillation or Flutter.

<bold>Background: </bold>ECG marker P Terminal Force V1 (PTFV1) is generally perceived as a marker of left atrial pathology and has been associated with atrial fibrillation or flutter (AF).<bold>Objective: </bold>To determine the association between PTFV1 components (duration and amplitude) and incident AF and stroke/TIA.<bold>Methods: </bold>We included patients with an ECG recorded in the Copenhagen General Practitioners Laboratory in 2001-2011. PTFV1 of ≥ 4 mV·ms was considered abnormal. Patients with abnormal PTFV1 were stratified into tertiles based on duration (PTDV1) and amplitude (PTAV1) values. Cox regressions adjusted for age, sex and relevant comorbidities were used to investigate associations between abnormal PTFV1 components and AF and stroke/TIA.<bold>Results: </bold>Of 267,636 patients, 5,803 had AF and 18,176 had stroke/TIA (follow-up time 6.5 years). Abnormal PTFV1 was present in 44,549 (16.7%) subjects and was associated with an increased risk of AF and stroke/TIA. Among patients with abnormal PTFV1, the highest tertile of PTDV1 (78 ms to 97 ms) was associated with the highest risk of AF (hazard ratio (HR) 1.37 (95% CI: 1.23-1.52)) and highest risk of stroke/TIA (HR 1.13 (95% CI: 1.05 -1.20)). For PTAV1, the highest tertile (78 μV to 126 μV) conferred the highest risk of AF and stroke/TIA, with a HR of 1.20 (95% CI: 1.09-1.32) and 1.21 (95% CI:1.14-1.25), respectively.<bold>Conclusion: </bold>Abnormal PTFV1 was associated with an increased risk of AF and stroke/TIA. Increasing PTDV1 showed a dose-response relationship with the development of AF and stroke/TIA, while the association between PTAV1 and AF was less apparent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]