Association of Left Atrial Strain With Ischemic Stroke Risk in Older Adults

The risk of ischemic stroke is higher among patients with left atrial (LA) enlargement. Left atrial strain (LAε) and LA strain rate (LASR) may indicate LA dysfunction when LA volumes are still normal. The association of LAε with incident ischemic stroke in the general population is not well established.

To investigate whether LAε and LASR are associated with new-onset ischemic stroke among older adults.

The Cardiovascular Abnormalities and Brain Lesions study was conducted from September 29, 2005, to July 6, 2010, to investigate cardiovascular factors associated with subclinical cerebrovascular disease. A total of 806 participants in the Northern Manhattan Study who were aged 55 years or older without history of prior stroke or atrial fibrillation (AF) were included, and annual follow-up telephone interviews were completed May 22, 2022. Statistical analysis was performed from June through November 2022.

Left atrial strain and LASR were assessed by speckle-tracking echocardiography. Global peak positive longitudinal LAε and positive longitudinal LASR during ventricular systole, global peak negative longitudinal LASR during early ventricular diastole, and global peak negative longitudinal LASR during LA contraction were measured. Brain magnetic resonance imaging was used to detect silent brain infarcts and white matter hyperintensities at baseline.

Risk analysis with cause-specific Cox proportional hazards regression modeling was used to assess the association of positive longitudinal LAε and positive longitudinal LASR with incident ischemic stroke, adjusting for other stroke risk factors, including incident AF.

The study included 806 participants (501 women [62.2%]) with a mean (SD) age of 71.0 (9.2) years; 119 participants (14.8%) were Black, 567 (70.3%) were Hispanic, and 105 (13.0%) were White. During a mean (SD) follow-up of 10.9 (3.7) years, new-onset ischemic stroke occurred in 53 participants (6.6%); incident AF was observed in 103 participants (12.8%). Compared with individuals who did not develop ischemic stroke, participants with ischemic stroke had lower positive longitudinal LAε and negative longitudinal LASR at baseline. In multivariable analysis, the lowest (ie, closest to zero) vs all other quintiles of positive longitudinal LAε (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 3.12; 95% CI, 1.56-6.24) and negative longitudinal LASR during LA contraction (HR, 2.89; 95% CI, 1.44-5.80) were associated with incident ischemic stroke, independent of left ventricular global longitudinal strain and incident AF. Among participants with a normal LA size, the lowest vs all other quintiles of positive longitudinal LAε (HR, 4.64; 95% CI, 1.55-13.89) and negative longitudinal LASR during LA contraction (HR, 11.02; 95% CI 3.51-34.62) remained independently associated with incident ischemic stroke.

This cohort study suggests that reduced positive longitudinal LAε and negative longitudinal LASR are independently associated with ischemic stroke in older adults. Assessment of LAε and LASR by speckle-tracking echocardiography may improve stroke risk stratification in elderly individuals.