UMMS Affiliation
Department of Quantitative Health Sciences; Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine; Department of Internal Medicine
Date
12-3-2012
Document Type
Article
Medical Subject Headings
Atrial Fibrillation; Electric Countershock
Disciplines
Cardiology | Cardiovascular Diseases
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Echocardiographic left atrial (LA) strain parameters have been associated with atrial fibrillation (AF) in prior studies. Our goal was to determine if strain measures [peak systolic longitudinal strain (LAS) and stiffness index (LASt)] changed after cardioversion (CV); and their relation to AF recurrence.
METHODS AND RESULTS: 46 participants with persistent AF and 41 age-matched participants with no AF were recruited. LAS and LASt were measured before and immediately after CV using 2D speckle tracking imaging (2DSI). Maintenance of sinus rhythm was assessed over a 6-month follow up. Mean LAS was lower, and mean LASt higher, in participants with AF before CV as compared to control group (11.9 +/- 1.0 vs 35.7 +/- 1.7, p
CONCLUSIONS: LAS and LASt differed between participants with and without AF, irrespective of the rhythm at the time of echocardiographic assessment. Baseline LAS and LASt were not associated with AF recurrence. However, change in LAS after CV may be a useful predictor of recurrent arrhythmia.
Comments
Citation: Cardiovasc Ultrasound. 2012 Dec 3;10(1):48. Link to article on publisher's site
© 2012 Shaikh et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.