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Updated: Jun 12, 2026

Estimating Bilateral Atrial Function by Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Feature Tracking in Patients with Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation
Published on: July 20, 2022
Role of echocardiography in the evaluation of atrial function and diseases
Y Gunes1, Y Y L, H A Gumrukcuoglu
1Yuzuncu Yil University, Faculty of Medicine, Cardiology Department, Van, Turkey. yilmazleman@yahoo.com
Insights
This review details the four key components of atrial function and explores traditional and novel echocardiographic methods for assessment. It covers atrial volume, velocity, and strain measures in health and disease.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Physiology
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Atrial function is crucial for overall cardiovascular health.
- Understanding atrial function aids in diagnosing and managing various cardiac conditions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To comprehensively review the essential components of atrial function.
- To discuss traditional and advanced echocardiographic techniques for evaluating atrial function.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on atrial function.
- Analysis of conventional echocardiographic parameters (e.g., atrial volume, peak A wave velocity).
- Exploration of newer echocardiographic techniques (e.g., Doppler tissue imaging, strain, strain rate).
Main Results:
- Atrial function comprises hemodynamic, bioelectrical, hormonal, and metabolic components.
- Conventional echocardiography provides insights into atrial activity phases.
- Advanced methods like Doppler tissue imaging offer detailed assessments of atrial contractility and deformation.
Conclusions:
- Echocardiography offers a versatile toolkit for assessing atrial function.
- Both traditional and novel echocardiographic parameters are valuable in physiological and pathological states.
- Accurate assessment of atrial function is vital for clinical practice.
Abstract:
This article describes four essential components (hemodynamic, bioelectrical, hormonal and metabolic) of atrial function. And then discusses the traditional and more recent echocardiographic measures that have been employed to evaluate atrial function. Conventional parameters include the study of the various phases of atrial activity using atrial volume measurements, the peak A wave velocity, its velocity time integral (VTI), fraction of atrial contribution and atrial ejection force. Newer parameters for atrial function assessment include Doppler tissue imaging (DTI) including segmental atrial contractility using color Doppler tissue imaging (CDTI) and estimates of atrial strain and strain rate. Furthermore, the authors relate various particular types of atrial function in physiological and in selected pathological conditions.
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