Author(s): Omer Kaya, Fatih Tufan, Rafet Basar, Timur Selcuk Akpinar, Kadri Atay, Nadir Alpay, Kamil Nas, Miklos Illyes, Suleyman Tevfik Ecder
The association of Helicobacter pylori (HP) with cardiovascular disease remain inconclusive. Studies regarding arterial-stiffness (AS) in patients with HP infection are limited. We aimed to evaluate AS and QTc dispersion in patients with HP infection and the effect of eradication treatment on these outcomes. We enrolled patients with HP infection and healthy subjects. We measured AS and QTc dispersion in the baseline visit and after eradication treatment. We compared baseline measurements between the patients and controls. We compared baseline and follow-up variables to observe the effect of eradication treatment on AS and QTc dispersion. Baseline characteristics were similar between the groups. There was no significant difference in AS measures between the groups. QTc dispersion was significantly higher in the HP group compared with controls. After eradication, QTc dispersion tended to normalize. There was also a statistically significant improvement in augmentation index and a tendency towards improvement in pulse wave velocity. The findings of this study indicate possible influence of HP infection on ventricular repolarization and a potential benefit of eradication on ventricular repolarization and measures of arterial stiffness.