Influence of age on the relationship between left atrial performance and left ventricular systolic and diastolic...

Changes in left ventricular (LV) systolic and diastolic properties may generate variations in left atrial (LA) size and function in many pathophysiological models of LV overload. Besides these states, increasing age may independently influence and magnify LA changes.

To investigate the relation of LA size and function to increasing age in hypertensive patients, and to evaluate whether this relationship is influenced by LV function.

Three hundred thirty-six patients were evaluated using Doppler echocardiography. Maximal LA volume and ejection force were used as indexes of LA size and performance, respectively.

Age was positively associated with LA ejection force (r=0.34, P<0.001) and maximal volume (r=0.25, P<0.001). The effect of age was independent of LV mass and LV concentric geometry, which independently influenced LA parameters. The relationship between age and LA ejection force was maintained in patients with and without LV systolic dysfunction, and in those with normal diastolic function, whereas it was lost in those with LV diastolic dysfunction. The relationship between age and LA size was not influenced by either LV systolic or diastolic function. LA ejection force was associated with LV mass and LV concentric geometry in all groups of patients 56 years or older, while no association was found between these variables in patients younger than 56 years. LV mass was systematically linked to maximal LA volume in all classes of age, together with LV end-diastolic volume in all groups of patients 56 years of age or older, and LV concentric geometry in patients 68 years of age or older.

There is a positive relationship between age and LA size and performance in hypertensive patients, which is independent of LV mass and geometry. The effect of age on LA performance is insignificant when diastolic dysfunction occurs.