[Does the left atrial dimension predict the short-term effect of electric cardioversion?]

The authors evaluate in their retrospective investigation the influence of the left atrium, assessed by echocardiography, on the short-term effect of electric cardioversion in auricular fibrillation. The group comprises 44 patients divided into four groups: ischaemic heart disease, cardiomyopathy and specific myocardial affection, mitral stenosis and idiopathic fibrillation. The authors did not find a significant difference between the left atrial diameter in patients with successful electric cardioversion (ECV) (44.4 +/- 8.2 mm) and patients with not successful ECV (43.4 +/- 6.7 mm). The authors did not prove the influence of age and aetiology of fibrillation on the effect of ECV. The size of the left atrium alone does not possess a significant predictive value when estimating the short-term effect of ECV.