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Updated: Jul 28, 2025

Estimating Bilateral Atrial Function by Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Feature Tracking in Patients with Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation
Published on: July 20, 2022
Right atrial strain in a normal adult African population according to age
Nyange Mushitu1, Ruchika Meel2
1Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Background:
Right atrial longitudinal strain (RALS) is a useful parameter to define right atrial (RA) subclinical dysfunction prior to changes in RA dimension and volume. We sought to establish normal values for RALS in a sub-Saharan African population.
Methods:
This was a retrospective, cross-sectional study from 2017 to 2019 of 100 normal individuals. All echocardiographic measurements were done as per the standard guidelines.
Results:
Mean RALS was 32.7 ± 10.5%. The mean RA volume indexed to body surface area was 19.5 ± 5.7 ml/m2. There was a negative correlation between RALS and age but it was not statistically significant (r = -0.15, p = 0.129). Males had a tendency towards higher RA volume indexed and RALS measurements compared to females (20.8 ± 6.3 and 18.7 ± 5.2 ml/m2, p = 0.07; 34.6 ± 9.6 and 31.4 ± 10.9%, p = 0.141, respectively). Body mass index was an independent predictor of RALS (r = -0.43, p = 0.003).
Conclusion:
We have provided normative data for RALS in an African population. This study provides a platform for future larger studies on RALS.
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