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Updated: Mar 3, 2026

Echocardiographic Evaluation of Atrial Communications before Transcatheter Closure
Published on: February 8, 2022
Left Atrium: Still a Neglected Chamber?
Maria Chiara Todaro1, Bijoy K Khandheria2
1Cardiology Unit, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Messina, Messina, Italy.
Insights
A comprehensive cardiovascular system relies on proper heart chamber interactions. Multimodality imaging is essential for accurately assessing left atrial function in various heart conditions.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Effective cardiovascular function depends on ventricular-vascular and ventricular-atrial interactions.
- Left atrial dysfunction is implicated in prevalent cardiovascular diseases like heart failure, atrial fibrillation, and valvular heart disease.
Purpose of the Study:
- To emphasize the necessity of a thorough anatomical and functional assessment of the left atrium.
- To highlight the role of multimodality imaging in evaluating left atrial structure and function.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing a multimodality imaging approach.
- Incorporating two-dimensional and three-dimensional echocardiography.
- Employing speckle tracking, cardiac computed tomography (CT), and cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR).
Main Results:
- Multimodality imaging provides a comprehensive evaluation of the left atrium.
- This approach allows for detailed anatomical and functional assessment.
Conclusions:
- Accurate assessment of the left atrium is crucial for understanding and managing cardiovascular conditions.
- A combination of advanced imaging techniques offers the most suitable method for evaluating left atrial anatomy and function.
Abstract:
It is widely recognized that an effective cardiovascular system is based upon both a good ventricular-vascular interplay and a good ventricular-atrial interaction in all the phases of cardiac cycle. Moreover, left atrial dysfunction has been identified to be contributory in several common cardiovascular conditions, such as heart failure, atrial fibrillation and valvular heart disease; for instance, a good anatomical and functional assessment of this cardiac chamber is mandatory. For this purpose a multimodality imaging approach - including two-dimensional and three-dimensional echocardiography, speckle tracking technique, cardiac computed tomography (CT) and cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) - is the most suitable one to achieve the best functional and anatomical evaluation of this cardiac chamber.
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