Left atrial volume overload in mitral regurgitation: a two dimensional echocardiographic study

Left atrial volume in patients with mitral valve disease was studied with two dimensional echocardiography. The left atrial dimension was derived by planimetry of the left atrial area and, assuming spherical geometry, left atrial volume was calculated. Patients with severe mitral regurgitation had marked systolic expansion of the left atrium with large phasic changes in left atrial cubic dimension. Conversely, patients with severe mitral stenosis had small changes in the cubic dimension in comparison with the large left atrial size. Left atrial volumetric changes were similar among patients with atrial fibrillation and normal sinus rhythm. Therefore, left atrial volume overload is an additional two dimensional echocardiographic diagnostic feature of severe mitral regurgitation.