Evaluation of Left Atrial Size and Function: Relevance for Clinical Practice

Liza Thomas; Denisa Muraru; Bogdan A Popescu; Marta Sitges; Monica Rosca; Gianni Pedrizzetti; Michael Y Henein; Erwan Donal; Luigi P Badano

doi:10.1016/j.echo.2020.03.021

Evaluation of Left Atrial Size and Function: Relevance for Clinical Practice

J Am Soc Echocardiogr. 2020 Aug;33(8):934-952. doi: 10.1016/j.echo.2020.03.021.

Authors

Liza Thomas¹, Denisa Muraru², Bogdan A Popescu³, Marta Sitges⁴, Monica Rosca³, Gianni Pedrizzetti⁵, Michael Y Henein⁶, Erwan Donal⁷, Luigi P Badano²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Cardiology, Westmead Hospital, Westmead Clinical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; South West Clinical School, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Electronic address: liza.thomas@sydney.edu.au.
² Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy; Department of Cardiovascular, Neural and Metabolic Sciences, Istituto Auxologico Italiano, IRCCS, S. Luca Hospital, Milan, Italy.
³ Department of Cardiology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy "Carol Davila," Euroecolab, Emergency Institute for Cardiovascular Diseases "Prof. Dr. C. C. Iliescu", Bucharest, Romania.
⁴ Cardiovascular Institute, Hospital Clínic, Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; CIBERCV, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Barcelona, Spain.
⁵ Dipartimento Ingegneria e Architettura, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy.
⁶ Umea University, Umea, Sweden.
⁷ Centre Hospitalier University Universitaire Rennes, Service de Cardiologie et Maladies Vasculaires et Université de Rennes 1, laboratoire en traitement du signal et de l'image, INSERM, Rennes, France.

PMID: 32762920
DOI: 10.1016/j.echo.2020.03.021

Abstract

Left atrial (LA) structural and functional evaluation have recently emerged as powerful biomarkers for adverse events in a variety of cardiovascular conditions. Moreover, noninvasive evaluation of LA pressure has gained importance in the characterization of the hemodynamic profile of patients. This review describes the methodology, benefits and pitfalls of measuring LA size and function by echocardiography and provides a brief overview of the prognostic utility of newer echocardiographic metrics of LA geometry and function (i.e., three-dimensional volumes, longitudinal strain, and phasic function parameters).

Keywords: Left atrium; Maximal volume; Minimal volumes; Noninvasive LA pressure; Phasic function; Speckle-tracking echocardiography; Three-dimensional echocardiography; Tissue Doppler echocardiography; Two-dimensional echocardiography.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Atrial Appendage*
Atrial Function, Left*
Echocardiography
Heart Atria / diagnostic imaging
Humans
Prognosis