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Updated: Jun 20, 2026
Echocardiographic Assessment of Cardiac Anatomy and Function in Adult Rats
Published on: December 13, 2019
[Usefulness of left atrial diametres and volumes for the evaluation of left ventricular diastolic function]
Enrico Vizzardi1, Ivano Bonadei, Melissa Teli
1Unità Operativa Complessa di Cardiologia, Università, Brescia. enrico.vizzardi@tin.it
Insights
Left atrial emptying fraction (LAEF) and atrial volume effectively differentiate left ventricular diastolic dysfunction patterns. These practical echocardiographic methods aid diagnosis, especially without advanced ultrasound technology.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Physiology
- Echocardiography
- Diastolic Function Assessment
Context:
- Left ventricular diastolic function is crucial for cardiovascular adaptation.
- Assessing diastolic dysfunction is vital for managing heart conditions.
- Traditional methods may have limitations in differentiating specific diastolic patterns.
Purpose:
- To evaluate left atrial diameter changes, left atrial volume, and their correlation with left ventricular diastolic filling patterns.
- To determine the utility of left atrium emptying fraction (LAEF) in assessing diastolic dysfunction.
- To explore practical echocardiographic methods for differentiating diastolic filling patterns.
Summary:
- The study measured LAEF and atrial volume in 90 patients with diastolic dysfunction and 80 controls.
- Significant differences in LAEF were observed across various diastolic patterns (pseudonormal, restrictive, A>E) compared to controls.
- LAEF values were higher in pseudonormal (0.81±0.04) and restrictive (0.89±0.01) patterns than in controls (0.6±0.4).
Impact:
- LAEF and atrial volume offer a novel and practical approach to differentiate between normal and abnormal diastolic filling patterns.
- These echocardiographic parameters are particularly valuable in settings lacking advanced ultrasound technologies.
- The findings support the use of LAEF and atrial volume as accessible tools for diagnosing diastolic dysfunction.
Introduction:
The diastolic function of the left ventricle is a main point of the physiological adaptations of the cardiovascular system to the various situations.
Aim Of The Study:
Evaluation of left atrium diameter change during diastole and left atrial volume and their possible correlation with different left ventricular diastolic filling pattern.
Material And Methods:
Ninety patients with echocardiographically determined diastolic dysfunction and eighty healthy volunteers were included in the study. We measured left atrium emptying fraction (LAEF), defined as ratio of end-diastolic left atrial diameter to end-systolic diameter and left atrial volume. Mitral flow pulsed wave velocities were recorded. E, A, E/A, deceleration time of early diastolic filling, isovolumetric relaxation time were measured. Pulmonary vein S, D and atrial reversal velocities and tissue Doppler imaging of E' and A' mitral anular velocities were obtained.
Results:
LAEF was found 0.6 +/- 0.4 (mean SE) in the control group, 0.81 +/- 0.04 in pseudonormal pattern (P < 0.05, control vs pseudonormal group), 0.89 +/- 0.01 in the greater A wave than E wave (P < 0.001, control vs restrictive pattern group), and 0.78 +/- 0.2 in the A > E group (P < 0.05, control vs A > E pattern group).
Conclusions:
LAEF and atrial volume are a new and practical methods for the differentiation of the normal-pseudonormal mitral flow pattern, in particular in setting without new ultrasound technologies.
