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Updated: Feb 12, 2026
The WATCHMAN Left Atrial Appendage Closure Device for Atrial Fibrillation
Published on: February 28, 2012
Arterial stiffness and left ventricular performance in elderly patients with persistent atrial fibrillation
Stefano Fumagalli1, Marta Migliorini2, Simone Pupo2
1Geriatric Intensive Care Unit, Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence and AOU Careggi, Viale Pieraccini 6, 50139, Florence, Italy. fumadue@tin.it.
Background:
The prevalence of atrial fibrillation (AF) and arterial stiffness (AS) increases with age.
Aims:
To evaluate if AS is correlated to longitudinal strain (LS), a marker of left ventricular (LV) function, in elderly AF patients with preserved ejection fraction (EF) undergoing external cardioversion.
Methods:
AS was measured using the cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI), LS was calculated from echocardiographic data of three consecutive cardiac cycles.
Results:
We enrolled 38 patients (age 76 ± 8 years; men 60.5%; EF 65 ± 7%). LS and CAVI were, respectively, - 17.7 ± 3.7% and 9.7 ± 1.3. Multivariate analysis showed that LV performance was inversely related to height (p < 0.001) and to the presence of AF-related symptoms (p = 0.008). LS grew with increasing values of CAVI (p = 0.038).
Conclusions:
In elderly AF patients with preserved systolic function, LV performance is directly associated with AS. This link could influence atrium remodeling and the incidence of arrhythmia relapse.
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