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Updated: Sep 30, 2025

Estimating Bilateral Atrial Function by Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Feature Tracking in Patients with Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation
Published on: July 20, 2022
Left atrial dysfunction may precede left atrial enlargement and abnormal left ventricular longitudinal function: a
Di Zhou1, Wenjing Yang1, Yingxia Yang1,2
1Department of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Fuwai Hospital and National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, No. 167 Beilishi Road, Beijing, 100037, China.
Insights
Left atrial (LA) dysfunction, measured by cardiovascular magnetic resonance feature tracking (CMR-FT) strain, is an early indicator of cardiovascular disease in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and hypertension (HTN). This LA strain is more sensitive than LV longitudinal strain for predicting adverse clinical events.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Medical Imaging
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Left atrial (LA) dysfunction is increasingly recognized as a factor in cardiovascular disease development.
- Cardiovascular magnetic resonance feature tracking (CMR-FT) allows for detailed assessment of cardiac mechanics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the impact of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and hypertension (HTN) on LA function in patients without LA enlargement using CMR-FT.
- To explore the capability of LA function metrics in predicting clinical outcomes in the early stages of cardiovascular disease.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of 60 HCM patients, 60 HTN patients (normal LA size), and 60 controls using CMR.
- Quantification of LA and left ventricular (LV) functions via volumetric and CMR-FT strain analysis.
- Primary endpoint: composite of all-cause death, stroke, heart failure hospitalization, and atrial fibrillation.
Main Results:
- Both HTN and HCM groups exhibited impaired LA reservoir (εs) and conduit (εe) functions compared to controls.
- LA strain parameters (εs, εe, εa) were more sensitive than LV longitudinal strain (GLS) in evaluating the primary endpoint.
- Impaired LA reservoir and booster pump strain were significantly associated with adverse clinical outcomes over a 6.8-year follow-up.
Conclusions:
- CMR-FT-derived LA strain is a robust tool for assessing LA mechanics and dynamics in early-stage HTN and HCM.
- LA dysfunction is a promising metric for assessing clinical implications and predicting prognosis, outperforming GLS.
Background:
The role of the dysfunction of left atrium in the occurrence and development of cardiovascular disease has been gradually recognized. We aim to compare the impact on left atrial (LA) function between patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and hypertension (HTN) without LA enlargement using cardiovascular magnetic resonance feature tracking (CMR-FT), and if possible, explore the capability of LA function for providing clinical implication and predicting clinical adverse events in the early stage of cardiovascular disease.
Methods:
Consecutive 60 HCM patients and 60 HTN patients with normal LA size among 1413 patients who underwent CMR were retrospectively analyzed as well as 60 controls. Left atrial and ventricular functions were quantified by volumetric and CMR-FT derived strain analysis from long and short left ventricular view cines. The primary endpoint was a composite of all-cause death, stroke, new-onset or worsening heart failure to hospitalization, and paroxysmal or persistent atrial fibrillation.
Results:
Compared to the controls, both HTN and HCM participants had impaired LA reservoir function (εs) and conduit function (εe) with the different stage of LA booster pump dysfunction (εa). LA strain was more sensitive than LV longitudinal strain (GLS) for evaluate primary endpoint (εs: 33.9% ± 7.5 vs. 41.2% ± 14.3, p = 0.02; εe: 13.6% ± 6.2 vs. 17.4% ± 10.4, p = 0.03; εa: 20.2% ± 6.0 vs. 23.7% ± 8.8, p = 0.07; GLS: -19.4% ± 6.4 vs. -20.0% ± 6.8, p = 0.70, respectively). After a mean follow-up of 6.8 years, 23 patients reached primary endpoint. Cox regression analyses indicated impaired LA reservoir and booster pump strain were associated with clinical outcomes in patients at the early stage of HTN and HCM (p < 0.05).
Conclusions:
CMR-FT-derived strain is a potential and robust tool in demonstrating impaired LA mechanics, quantifying LA dynamics and underlining the impacts on LA-LV coupling in patients with HTN and HCM without LA enlargement. The corresponding LA dysfunction is a promising metric to assess clinical implication and predict prognosis at the early stage, superior to GLS.
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