IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering | 2021
Characterization of T Wave Amplitude, Duration and Morphology Changes During Hemodialysis: Relationship With Serum Electrolyte Levels and Heart Rate
Abstract
<italic>Objective:</italic> Chronic kidney disease affects more than 10% of the world population. Changes in serum ion concentrations increase the risk for ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death, particularly in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients. We characterized how T\xa0wave amplitude, duration and morphology descriptors change with variations in serum levels of potassium and calcium and in heart rate, both in ESRD patients and in simulated ventricular fibers. <bold/><italic>Methods:</italic><bold/> Electrocardiogram (ECG) recordings from twenty ESRD patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD) and pseudo-ECGs (pECGs) calculated from twenty-two simulated ventricular fibers at varying transmural heterogeneity levels were processed to quantify T\xa0wave width (<inline-formula><tex-math notation= LaTeX >$T_{\\mathrm{w}}$</tex-math></inline-formula>), T\xa0wave slope-to-amplitude ratio (<inline-formula><tex-math notation= LaTeX >$T_{\\text{S/A}}$</tex-math></inline-formula>) and four indices of T\xa0wave morphological variability based on time warping (<inline-formula><tex-math notation= LaTeX >$d_{\\mathrm{w}}$</tex-math></inline-formula>, <inline-formula><tex-math notation= LaTeX >$d^{\\text{NL}}_{\\mathrm{w}}$</tex-math></inline-formula>, <inline-formula><tex-math notation= LaTeX >$d_{\\mathrm{a}}$</tex-math></inline-formula> and <inline-formula><tex-math notation= LaTeX >$d^{\\text{NL}}_{\\mathrm{a}}$</tex-math></inline-formula>). Serum potassium and calcium levels and heart rate were measured along HD. <bold/><italic>Results:</italic><bold/> <inline-formula><tex-math notation= LaTeX >$d^{\\text{NL}}_{\\mathrm{a}}$</tex-math></inline-formula> was the marker most strongly correlated with serum potassium, <inline-formula><tex-math notation= LaTeX >$d_{\\mathrm{w}}$</tex-math></inline-formula> with calcium and <inline-formula><tex-math notation= LaTeX >$d_{\\mathrm{a}}$</tex-math></inline-formula> with heart rate, after correction for covariates. Median values of partial correlation coefficients were 0.75, <inline-formula><tex-math notation= LaTeX >$-$</tex-math></inline-formula>0.74 and <inline-formula><tex-math notation= LaTeX >$-$</tex-math></inline-formula>0.90, respectively. For all analyzed T\xa0wave descriptors, high inter-patient variability was observed in the pattern of such relationships. This variability, accentuated during the first HD time points, was reproduced in the simulations and shown to be influenced by differences in transmural heterogeneity. <italic>Conclusion:</italic> Changes in serum potassium and calcium levels and in heart rate strongly affect T\xa0wave descriptors, particularly those quantifying morphological variability. <italic>Significance:</italic> ECG markers have the potential to be used for monitoring serum ion concentrations in ESRD patients.