{"id":5208,"date":"2025-10-17T15:44:01","date_gmt":"2025-10-17T13:44:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cvja.co.za\/journal\/?p=5208"},"modified":"2026-05-05T14:28:38","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T12:28:38","slug":"cvja-2025-068","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cvja.co.za\/journal\/cvja-2025-068\/","title":{"rendered":"Prolonged QT and Tp-e intervals in male substance abusers: insights from a cross-sectional study"},"content":{"rendered":"    <div id=\"article\">                                                                                                                        \r\n        <div id=\"title-container\">                                                                                                    \r\n        <div id=\"authors-title\">                                                                                                            \r\n        <!--Aurthors under Title-->                                                                                                            \r\n            \r\nYusuf Ho\u015fo\u011flu, Ahmet Do\u011fru, Ay\u015fe Ho\u015fo\u011flu, Mehmet G\u00f6l, Abdulmecit Af\u015fin                                                                                            \r\n        <\/div>        \r\n<\/div>                                                                                                                            \r\n            <div id=\"copyright\">\r\n        <strong>Copyright:<\/strong> Clinics Cardive Publishing (Pty) Ltd. publisher\r\n        of Cardiovascular Journal of Africa.<\/div>\r\n    <div style=\"clear: both;\"><\/div>                                                                                                                                \r\n        <div id=\"article-abstract\">                                                                                                            \r\n            <div id=\"abstract-title\">                                                                                                        \r\n                    Abstract                                                                                                                \r\n                <\/div>                                                                                                                        \r\n                                                                                                                                \r\n            <div id=\"abstract-content\">                                                                                                        \r\n            <!--Content of Abstract Article-->                                                                                                \r\n            <!--<strong>\"Abstract titles\":<\/strong>-->                                                                                        \r\n            <!--<br\/> at the end of each section!!-->                                                                                        \r\n                                                                                                                                            \r\n        <strong>Introduction:<\/strong>                                                                                                    \r\n                                                                                                                                                    \r\nSubstance abuse poses a significant global health challenge, particularly due to its adverse effects on the cardiovascular system. This study investigates the association between substance abuse and electrocardiogram (ECG) parameters, specifically the QT interval, corrected QT (QTc) interval, and the novel Tp-e interval, to assess potential arrhythmogenic risks.                                                                                   \r\n                <br \/>                                                                                                                            \r\n                                                                                                                                                \r\n        <strong>Methods:<\/strong>                                                                                                    \r\n                                                                                                                                                    \r\nIn this cross-sectional study, we included 126 male substance abusers and 126 age-matched substance-free male controls. Standard 12-lead ECGs were used to measure QT, QTc (corrected by Bazett and Friedrich methods), and Tp-e intervals. Statistical analyses compared these ECG parameters between the two groups and identified risk factors for QT prolongation.                                                                                          \r\n                <br \/>        \r\n                \r\n                <strong>Results:<\/strong>                                                                                                    \r\nSubstance abusers predominantly used methamphetamine, heroin, and synthetic cannabinoids. Compared to controls, substance abusers exhibited significantly longer QT, QTcB (Bazett), and QTcF (Friedrich) intervals. Methamphetamine users had the longest QTcB, followed by heroin and synthetic cannabinoid users. Multivariate logistic regression identified age, methamphetamine use, multiple substance use, duration of synthetic cannabinoid use, and frequency of heroin use as significant predictors of QTcB > 450 ms. While Tp-e intervals did not differ significantly between groups, the corrected Tp-ec interval was longer in substance abusers.\r\n                <br \/>\r\n                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        \r\n                                                                                                                                                \r\n        <strong>Conclusion:<\/strong>                                                                                                    \r\n                                                                                                                                                    \r\nSubstance abuse is linked to prolonged QT and QTc intervals, highlighting an elevated risk of arrhythmias. The corrected Tp-e interval may provide a more sensitive measure of repolarisation heterogeneity in substance abusers, necessitating further research and clinical monitoring.\r\n<br \/>    \r\n                                                                                                          \r\n\r\n                                                                                                                                                \r\n            <\/div>                                                                                                                            \r\n        <\/div>                                                                                                                                    \r\n                                                                                                                                        \r\n                                                                                                                                                \r\n        <div id=\"keywords\">                                                                                                                    \r\n                                                                                                                                            \r\n            <strong>Keywords:<\/strong>                                                                                                        \r\n                                                                                                                                            \r\n            <strong>Substance-Related Disorders, electrocardiography, heroin, methamphetamine, cannabinoids<\/strong>                                                                                                                                                                                                                    \r\n                                                                                                                                                \r\n        <\/div>                                                                                                                                    \r\n                                                                                                                                                \r\n    <div id=\"publish-info\">                                                                                                                    \r\n                                                                                                                                \r\n    <strong>Submitted:<\/strong> October 8, 2024; <!--Month day, year; -->    \r\n    <strong>Accepted:<\/strong> October 30, 2024; <!--Month day, year; -->                                                                            \r\n    <strong>Published:<\/strong> October 17, 2025<!--Month day, year; -->                                                                                                                            <br \/>                                                            \r\n        <em>Cardiovasc J Afr 2025; <b>36<\/b>: 474-479<!--pg no. till pg no. \"eg. 4-7\"--><\/em>\r\n        <br \/><strong>Volume 36, Issue 4<\/strong> <br \/>                                                                            \r\n        <\/div>                                                                                                                            \r\n                                                                                                                                        \r\n    <div id=\"DOI\">                                                                                                                    \r\n            DOI Citation Reference: dx.doi.org\/10.5830\/CVJA-2025-068<!--DOI number-->                                                                \r\n        <\/div>                                                                                                                            \r\n                \r\n                <div id=\"author-affiliation\">                                                                                                \r\n\r\n                <strong>Department of Cardiology, Ad\u0131yaman University Training and Research Hospital, Ad\u0131yaman, T\u00fcrkiye\r\n\r\n<\/strong>    <br \/>                                                                            \r\nYusuf Ho\u015fo\u011flu\r\n\r\n<br \/><br \/>\r\n\r\n                <strong>Department of Psychiatry, Dr. Ersin Arslan Training and Research Hospital, Gaziantep, T\u00fcrkiye\r\n\r\n<\/strong>    <br \/>                                                                            \r\nAhmet Do\u011fru\r\n\r\n<br \/><br \/>\r\n\r\n                <strong>Department of Cardiology, Baskent University Hospital, Ankara, T\u00fcrkiye\r\n\r\n<\/strong>    <br \/>                                                                            \r\nAy\u015fe Ho\u015fo\u011flu\r\n\r\n<br \/><br \/>\r\n\r\n                <strong>Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Gaziantep Islam Science and Technology University, Gaziantep, T\u00fcrkiye\r\n\r\n<\/strong>    <br \/>                                                                            \r\nMehmet G\u00f6l\r\n\r\n<br \/><br \/>\r\n\r\n\r\n                <strong>Department of Cardiology, Faculty of Medicine, Malatya Turgut \u00d6zal University, Malatya, T\u00fcrkiye\r\n\r\n<\/strong>    <br \/>                                                                            \r\nAbdulmecit Af\u015fin\r\n\r\n<br \/><br \/>\r\n                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        \r\n\r\n                [soshsc hide=\"logged\"]\r\n                <strong>You need to be <a style=\"color: #c80c44;\" href=\"https:\/\/cvja.co.za\/journal\/member-login\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">logged in to view and download<\/a> the full text PDF version. <a style=\"color: #c80c44;\" href=\"https:\/\/cvja.co.za\/journal\/register\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Register for a free account?<\/a><\/strong> <br \/><br \/>[\/soshsc]\r\n                \r\n                \r\n                \r\n                <\/div>\r\n    \r\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Substance abuse poses a significant global health challenge, particularly due to its adverse effects on the cardiovascular system. This study investigates the association between substance abuse and electrocardiogram (ECG) parameters, specifically the QT interval, corrected QT (QTc) interval, and the novel Tp-e interval, to assess potential arrhythmogenic risks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[44,108],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cardiovascular-topics","category-volume-36-issue-4"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Prolonged QT and Tp-e intervals in male substance abusers: insights from a cross-sectional study - Cardiovascular Journal of Africa<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Substance abuse poses a significant global health challenge, particularly due to its adverse effects on the cardiovascular system. 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