Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 17, 2026
Estimating Bilateral Atrial Function by Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Feature Tracking in Patients with Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation
Published on: July 20, 2022
Evaluation of left atrial contraction contribution to left ventricular filling using cardiovascular magnetic
Tariq Alhogbani1, Oliver Strohm, Matthias G Friedrich
1Stephenson Cardiovascular MR Centre at the Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta, Department of Cardiac Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. tariqmfh@yahoo.com
Purpose:
To describe a new method to quantify the left atrial contraction contribution (ACC) to left ventricular (LV) filling using cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR).
Materials And Methods:
We assessed 120 normal subjects (50% female) using steady-state free precession CMR volumetry. Volumes measurements were performed using short axis and rotational long axis views. The percentage of ACC was calculated by dividing the LV filling volume resulting from left atrial (LA) contraction by the LV stroke volume (LVSV).
Results:
The described method was well reproducible. The ACC in normal subjects was 15 ± 5% for ages <40 years, 28 ± 8% for ages 40 to 55 years, and 38 ± 5% for ages >55 years. When adjusted for age, ie, dividing the ACC percentage by age, a value between 0.4 and 0.7 was found to represent the normal range of ACC at any age.
Conclusion:
The study presents a new and accurate CMR volumetric method to quantify ACC to LV filling. ACC ranges from 10%-40%, depending on age.
