Bayés syndrome. A brief overview for the clinician

Urtė Daužvardytė¹, Eglė Kymantaitė¹, Viktorija Bleizgytė¹

¹Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Kaunas

Abstract 

Background. Predicting and early detecting atrial fibrillation (AF) remains an important challenge in a physician’s daily practice. Timely detection of an increased risk of AF episodes (which are often asymptomatic) is essential for the primary and secondary prevention of cardioembolic events. One of the non-invasive methods of AF prediction is electrocardiographic P-wave analysis. This includes the suspicion, monitoring and diagnosis of interatrial conduction block (IAB) (Bachmann’s bundle block). Impaired interatrial conduction or IAB is a well-documented pathology, but it is not described as an individual electrocardiographic feature in most ECG books.

Aim: to select and analyze scientific literature related to Bayés syndrome, its pathophysiology, main diagnostic methods, and clinical significance.

Methods: literature review and data collection sources were selected from PubMed, UpToDate and

Cochrane Library scientific databases. Articles related to Bayés syndrome, AF, and interatrial conduction block were selected and analyzed. The pathophysiology, diagnostic possibilities and clinical significance of their manifestation were examined.

Results: Bayés syndrome (named in honor of the first scientist to describe this syndrome) is a new clinical entity, characterized by the association of advanced interatrial block (IAB) on surface electrocardiogram with atrial fibrillation (AF) and other atrial arrhythmias. This syndrome is associated with an increased risk of stroke, dementia, and mortality.

Conclusion. This brief overview provides the most important aspects about Bayés syndrome: a brief history, the main features of the ECG, the pathophysiological basis and the clinical consequences.

Keywords: atrial fibrillation, interatrial conduction block, electrocardiography, P wave.