[Echocardiographic evaluation of left atrial emptying index in hypertension]

The atrial emptying index (AEI) was used to access the rapid phase of diastolic filling of the left ventricle (LV) in 27 hypertensive (HTA) untreated patients and in 27 normotensive (N) subjects, matched for age, body, surface and heart rate. All the patients had left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH): LV mass index (LVmi) > 134 g/m2 for men, 110 g/m2 for women. All subjects had normal systolic function by echocardiography. We derived: LV wall thickness (h); antero-posterior radius (r); h/r ratio; LVmi; LAmi (before atrial contraction); AEI; A/E ratio.

[table: see text] The AEI demonstrated a negative correlation with LAvi in N (r = -0.49; p = 0.005) and in HTA (r = -0.53; p = 0.002). This index was correlated significantly to A/E (r = 0.74; p < 0.001) and to LV mi (r = -0.32; p < 0.05 only in HTA. CONCLUSION. In HTA with LVH in comparison with N, there are conjointly an increase of the A/E ratio and a reduction of the AEI which is considered to be compensated by the increase of LAvi. These data could be explained by the less distensibility of LV chamber in relation to LVH.