Relationship of left atrial size and phasic function in hypertension

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the relationship of left atrial (LA) size and phasic function in hypertension (HT).Methods Data of 589 HT patients in an urban community of Beijing was analyzed.LA global longitudinal strain in late diastole (Sa),early diastole (Se),and total strain (Stot =Sa + Se),strain rate in late diastole (SRa),systole (SRs),and early diastole (SRe) were measured using off-line speckletracking echocardiography analyzing software,and were compared among groups (normal,mild,moderate and severe enlargement) divided by LA volume index.Results LA reservoir parameters[Stot:(21.4 ± 5.8)％,(20.8±5.4)％,(19.7±4.5％),(17.8±7.4)％,P =0.012;SRs:(1.1±0.3)s-1,(1.0±0.3)s-1,(1.0 ±0.2)s-1,(0.9 ±0.3)s-1,P =0.001] and contraction parameters[Sa:(11.7±4.0)％,(11.1 ± 3.3)％,(9.9±2.6)％,(8.9±4.5)％,P＜0.001;SRa:(1.6±0.6)s-1,(1.4±0.4)s 1,(1.3±0.4)s-1,(1.1 ± 0.6)s 1,P ＜ 0.001] deteriorated from normal to severe enlarged LA groups,while conduit parameters (Se and SRe) had no difference (P ＞0.05).Conclusions LA enlargement in HT associated with deteriorated reservoir and contraction function and unaffected conduit function. Key words: Echocardiography ; Hypertension ; Atrial function, left ; Speckle tracking imaging