Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 23, 2026
Estimating Bilateral Atrial Function by Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Feature Tracking in Patients with Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation
Published on: July 20, 2022
Evaluation of single right atrial volume and function with magnetic resonance imaging in children with hypoplastic
Chodchanok Vijarnsorn1,2, Kimberley Myers3, David J Patton3
1Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Stollery Children's Hospital, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada. cvijarnsorn@yahoo.com.
Insights
Quantifying right atrial function in hypoplastic left heart is feasible using cardiac MRI. The short-axial oblique method demonstrated the highest reproducibility for assessing atrial volumes and function in these patients.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Pediatric Cardiology
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Standardized methods for evaluating atrial properties in single ventricle physiology are currently lacking.
- Accurate assessment of atrial volume and function is crucial for understanding single-ventricle mechanics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the feasibility of quantifying right atrial volumes and function in infants with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) using cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
- To compare the accuracy and reproducibility of different MRI methods for atrial assessment in HLHS.
Main Methods:
- A cohort of 15 infants with HLHS, prior to Glenn surgery, underwent cardiac MRI.
- Atrial volumes and emptying fraction were evaluated using monoplane two-chamber, monoplane four-chamber, biplane methods, and compared to the atrial short-axial oblique stack method.
- Reproducibility was assessed using Bland-Altman plots.
Main Results:
- The four-chamber and biplane methods showed high correlations for atrial end-diastolic volume (r=0.7-0.8) and end-systolic volume (r=0.8-0.9) compared to the short-axial oblique method.
- Small mean differences were observed for atrial volumes between the methods.
- The short-axial oblique method was found to be the most reproducible, followed by the four-chamber method.
Conclusions:
- Cardiac MRI is a feasible tool for assessing atrial volume and function in patients with HLHS.
- These quantitative MRI assessments may offer valuable insights into the complex mechanics of single ventricles in HLHS.
- The short-axial oblique method shows promise for reproducible atrial assessment in this population.
Background:
Standardized methods to evaluate atrial properties in single ventricles are lacking.
Objective:
To determine the feasibility of quantifying right atrial volumes and function in hypoplastic left heart using MRI.
Materials And Methods:
We studied 15 infants with hypoplastic left heart prior to Glenn surgery (mean age 4.2 months [standard deviation 0.3]) who underwent cardiac MRI with evaluation of atrial volumes and emptying fraction using monoplane two-chamber, monoplane four-chamber, and biplane methods, all of which were compared to the atrial short-axial oblique stack method. We compared atrial end-diastolic volume, end-systolic volume and emptying fraction among these methods. We analyzed reproducibility of the methods using Bland‒Altman plots.
Results:
Both four-chamber and biplane methods showed high correlations for atrial end-diastolic volume (r = 0.7 and r = 0.8, respectively; P < 0.01) and end-systolic volume (r = 0.8 and r = 0.9, respectively; P < 0.01) with small mean differences (-0.2 ± 2.9 standard deviation [SD] ml and -0.8 ± 1.6 ml, respectively, for atrial end-diastolic volume and -0.8 ± 1.5 ml and -0.9 ± 0.9 ml, respectively, for atrial end-systolic volume). The short-axial oblique method was the most reproducible, followed by the four-chamber method.
Conclusion:
MRI assessment of atrial volume and function is feasible in hypoplastic left heart and might provide further insight into single-ventricle mechanics.
