title: Comparison of left atrial dimensions by transesophageal and transthoracic echocardiography.
abstract: Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is an established cardiovascular diagnostic technique. Left atrial (LA) size, as measured by transthoracic echocardiography (TTE), is associated with cardiovascular disease and is a risk factor for atrial fibrillation, stroke, death, and the success of cardioversion. Assessment of LA size has not been as well validated on TEE as on TTE. We determined LA size measurements in four standard views in 122 patients undergoing TEE and TTE at the same setting. In this study, we found that measurement of LA dimensions by TEE suffers from significant limitations in all views except the basal long-axis view (mid-esophageal level) with transducer plane at 120-150 degrees. This view had the best correlation with transthoracic LA measurements: r = 0.79 for TEE long axis (CI 0.71-0.85), P <.0001.
authors.affiliation: Section of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, West Virginia University, Morgantown, 26506, USA. Hsingh125@aol.com
authors.forename: Harshinder
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Jain
authors.forename: D K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Bhumbla
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Failinger
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004452:Echocardiography / Q000379:methods*; D017548:Echocardiography, Transesophageal / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006325:Heart Atria / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results