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Updated: Jun 2, 2026

Estimating Bilateral Atrial Function by Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Feature Tracking in Patients with Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation
08:10

Estimating Bilateral Atrial Function by Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Feature Tracking in Patients with Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation

Published on: July 20, 2022

Prognostic Value of Left Atrial Strain for Atrial Fibrillation After Cryptogenic Stroke and Embolic Stroke of

Urszula Gancarczyk1,2, Paweł Prochownik3, Marcin Jakiel3

  • 1From the Department of Transplantology and Mechanical Circulatory Support, Krakow Specialist Hospital named after St. John Paul II, Kraków, Poland.

Cardiology in Review
|June 1, 2026
PubMed

Insights

Subclinical atrial fibrillation (AF) detection in cryptogenic stroke (CS) and embolic stroke of undetermined source (ESUS) patients may be improved by assessing left atrial strain (LAS). Lower LAS is associated with AF, aiding risk stratification.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Neurology
  • Medical Imaging

Background:

  • Subclinical atrial fibrillation (AF) is a key cause of cryptogenic stroke (CS) and embolic stroke of undetermined source (ESUS).
  • Identifying patients at high risk for AF is clinically challenging.
  • Left atrial strain (LAS) assessed by echocardiography shows promise for evaluating atrial function and AF risk.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To systematically review and evaluate the association between left atrial strain (LAS) and AF detection in patients with CS and ESUS.
  • To assess the utility of LAS for AF risk stratification in these patient populations.

Main Methods:

  • Systematic review following PRISMA guidelines.
  • Searched PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar.
  • Included 13 studies with 2132 patients; conducted comparative and prognostic meta-analyses.

Main Results:

  • LAS was significantly lower in patients with AF (SMD -0.80, P < 0.001) with substantial heterogeneity.
  • Lower LAS was associated with AF detection (pooled OR 0.87 per 1% increase, P = 0.009) with considerable heterogeneity.

Conclusions:

  • Left atrial strain (LAS) is generally lower in patients with AF.
  • LAS may aid in risk stratification for AF detection in CS and ESUS patients.
  • Substantial heterogeneity and methodological differences across studies necessitate cautious interpretation.

Keywords:
ESUScryptogenic strokeechocardiographyleft atrial strainsubclinical atrial fibrillation

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