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Updated: May 5, 2026

Estimating Bilateral Atrial Function by Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Feature Tracking in Patients with Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation
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Changes in left ventricular filling in patients with persistent atrial fibrillation

Franjo Naji1, Mihael Pagliaruzzi, Meta Penko

  • 1Department of Cardiology and Angiology, University Clinical Centre, Maribor, Slovenia.

International Journal of Medical Sciences
|December 11, 2013
PubMed

Insights

Persistent atrial fibrillation (AF) alters diastolic ventricular filling patterns, primarily due to elevated left atrial pressure, not impaired relaxation. This finding is crucial for understanding heart function post-cardioversion.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Cardiac Electrophysiology
  • Echocardiography

Background:

  • Previous research suggests a link between abnormal ventricular filling and atrial fibrillation (AF).
  • Long-term persistent AF may negatively affect left ventricular filling in patients with preserved ejection fraction.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the impact of persistent atrial fibrillation (AF) on left ventricular filling patterns in patients with preserved ejection fraction following electrical cardioversion.

Main Methods:

  • A prospective case-control study involving 40 patients with persistent AF and 43 controls with preserved ejection fraction.
  • Cardiac ultrasound, including mitral flow and tissue Doppler velocities, was performed 24 hours post-cardioversion.
  • Standard echocardiographic measurements were obtained.

Main Results:

  • No significant differences in age, sex, comorbidities, or drug therapy between groups.
  • Increased E wave velocity in the AF group (0.96±0.27 vs. 0.70±0.14; p=0.001).
  • Significantly higher E/Em values in the AF group (12.0±4.0 vs. 9.0±2.1; p=0.001), despite no difference in early diastolic tissue Doppler movement.

Conclusions:

  • Altered diastolic ventricular filling patterns in persistent AF post-cardioversion are mainly attributed to increased left atrial pressure.
  • Impaired diastolic relaxation of the left ventricle is not the primary cause.
  • Further research is needed to clarify the relationship between reduced atrial function and impaired ventricular filling.
Abstract

Keywords:
atrial fibrillationdiastolic relaxationechocardiographyelectrical cardioversion.ventricular filling

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