Automatic quantification of P-wave morphological features
Federica Censi, Giovanni Calcagnini, Eugenio Mattei, Michele Triventi, Pietro Bartolini · IGI Global eBooks · 2011
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most frequently occurring sustained cardiac rhythm disturbance (Wolf, Mitchell, Baker, Kannel, & D’Agostino, 1998). Although relatively easy to diagnose by analysis of the surface ECG, AF has modalities, mechanisms, and predisposing conditions that still remain poorly understood. AF is not a direct life-threatening arrhythmia. However, because of the associated strong symptomatology, it frequently results in hospitalisation, physician visits, and drug therapy, hereby limiting the physical and social activities of many patients. It not only affects the quality of life, but it also increases the likelihood of prothrombotic effects and the risk for mortality because of cerebrovascular events or progressive ventricular dysfunction (Wolf et al., 1998).Request access from your librarian to read this chapter's full text.