Left atrial deformation: Useful index for early detection of cardiac damage in chronic mitral regurgitation
M Cameli1, E Incampo1, S Mondillo1
1Department of Cardiovascular Diseases, University of Siena, Policlinico "S. Maria alle Scotte", viale Bracci 1, 53100 Siena, Italy.
Abstract:
In chronic mitral regurgitation (MR) left atrium is one of the first cardiac structures that is involved in remodeling and ultrastructural changes for a progressive volume overload. Severe left atrial (LA) dilation on echocardiography and new onset of atrial fibrillation in asymptomatic patients with preserved Left Ventricular (LV) function, appeared as a Class IIb recommendation for consideration for surgical mitral valve repair in the actual guidelines. However, before atrial dilatation and dysfunction, several ultrastructural changes appear in the atrial muscle tissue that are difficult to identify with the standard echocardiography. Speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) can analyze LA function: it has been showed that it can indirectly identify structural tissue modifications from excessive atrial effort in the early stages of MR up to the full depression of atrial function in the late stages where there are advanced ultrastructural alterations. This review aims to summarize current knowledge on the role of atrial strain identifying early structural alterations of the atrial tissue in the rising stages of MR considering that Left Atrial Peak Longitudinal Strain (PALS) considered useful parameter for a more extensive evaluation of MR patients.
More Related Videos
09:05Transthoracic Speckle Tracking Echocardiography for the Quantitative Assessment of Left Ventricular Myocardial Deformation
Published on: October 20, 2016
08:10Estimating Bilateral Atrial Function by Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Feature Tracking in Patients with Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation
Published on: July 20, 2022
Related Concept Videos
Mitral Valve Prolapse II: Assessment and Management
Mitral Regurgitation II: Clinical Features and Diagnostic Tests
Mitral Stenosis I: Introduction
Mitral Stenosis II: Clinical features and Diagnostic Tests
Aortic Regurgitation II: Clinical Features and Diagnostic Tests
Rheumatic Heart Disease II: Clinical Manifestations and Diagnostic Studies
