Predicting impaired cardiopulmonary exercise capacity in patients with atrial fibrillation using a simple...

Exercise intolerance is a common symptom associated with atrial fibrillation (AF). However, echocardiographic markers that can predict impaired exercise capacity are lacking.

This study aimed to investigate the association between echocardiographic parameters and exercise capacity assessed by cardiopulmonary exercise testing in patients with AF.

This single-center prospective study enrolled patients with AF who underwent echocardiography and cardiopulmonary exercise testing to evaluate exercise capacity at a tertiary center for AF management from 2020 to 2022. Patients with valvular heart disease, reduced left ventricular ejection fraction, or documented cardiomyopathy were excluded.

Of the 188 patients, 134 (71.2%) exhibited impaired exercise capacity (peak oxygen consumption ≤85%), including 4 (2.1%) having poor exercise capacity (peak oxygen consumption <50%). Echocardiographic findings revealed that these patients had an enlarged left atrial end-systolic diameter (LA); smaller left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVEDD); and increased relative wall thickness, tricuspid regurgitation velocity, and LA/LVEDD and E/e' ratios. In addition, they exhibited lower peak systolic velocity of the mitral annulus and LA reservoir strain. In the multivariate regression model, LA/LVEDD remained the only significant echocardiographic parameter after adjustment for age, sex, and body mass index (P = .020). This significance persisted even after incorporation of heart rate reserve, N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide level, and beta-blocker use into the model.

In patients with AF, LA/LVEDD is strongly associated with exercise capacity. Further follow-up and validation are necessary to clarify its clinical implications in patient care.