Effects of Acute Sleep Deprivation On Repolarisation Parameters

Acute sleep deprivation is associated with various adverse physiological consequences, such as dysregulation of the autonomic nervous system and adverse cardiovascular events. Markers of ventricular repolarisation are widely accepted in clinical practice to assess the risk of developing malignant ventricular arrhythmias. The aim of this study was to investigate the arrhythmogenic potential of acute sleep deprivation. This was a prospective, observational study conducted in a single centre to investigate the relationship between acute sleep deprivation and ECG parameters. The included subjects did not have any acute or chronic diseases and ECG abnormalities. A 12lead ECG was performed after a sleepless period of 24 hours after the night shift and after seven days of normal sleep following the night shift. The 12-lead ECG was recorded using a Philips PageWriter TC20 at a rate of 50 mm/sec and ECG parameters evaluated included Tp-e/QT and Tp-e/QTc ratios, frontal QRS-T angle, PR, QT, QTc and Tp-e intervals. Fifty-nine nurses were included in the study. Qt and QTc duration, mean Tp-e and corrected Tp-e intervals were prolonged after acute sleep deprivation. In addition, Tp-e/Qt ratio and Tp-e/QTc were found to be longer after acute sleep deprivation compared to after normal sleep. The results of our study suggest that acute sleep deprivation has a significant effect on ECG parameters, especially on repolarisationrelated ECG parameters, but not on depolarisation parameters.