title: Using traditional measurements of the left atrial diameter to predict the left atrial volume index.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Left atrial enlargement by echocardiography is associated with adverse cardiovascular outcomes, yet the best method for assessing left atrial size has not been established. We sought to correlate the traditional left atrial diameter (LAD) measured in the parasternal view with the recently characterized left atrial volume index (LAVI).
  
  
  METHODS
  100 routine clinical patients who received a transthoracic echocardiogram for customary indications were studied. The LAD and LAVI were measured in each patient.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean LAVI was 32.8 milliliters per square meter (ml/m(2)) and the LAD was 46.8 millimeters (mm). LAD > 4.7 centimeters (cm) was predictive of LAVI > 32 ml/m(2) (P < 0.001; OR 17.33; 95% CI = 5.96-50.44).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  LAD > 4.7 cm via the traditional method can be used to indicate left atrial enlargement. However, a LAD < or = 4.7 cm does not correlate well with the LAVI, and in such patients, extreme caution should be employed when using the LAD to estimate cardiac prognosis.
authors.affiliation: University of Arizona College of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Sarver Heart Center, Tucson, Arizona, USA.
authors.forename: Gautam
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kedia
authors.forename: Mohammed Reza
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Habibzadeh
authors.forename: Vijayasree
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kudithipudi
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Molls
authors.forename: Vincent L
authors.initials: VL
authors.lastname: Sorrell
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002306:Cardiac Volume; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004452:Echocardiography; D005260:Female; D006325:Heart Atria / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012372:ROC Curve; D018570:Risk Assessment