title: Echocardiographic Evaluation of Left Atrial Mechanics: Function, History, Novel Techniques, Advantages, and Pitfalls.
abstract: Left atrial (LA) functional analysis has an established role in assessing left ventricular diastolic function. The current standard echocardiographic parameters used to study left ventricular diastolic function include pulsed-wave Doppler mitral inflow analysis, tissue Doppler imaging measurements, and LA dimension estimation. However, the above-mentioned parameters do not directly quantify LA performance. Deformation studies using strain and strain-rate imaging to assess LA function were validated in previous research, but this technique is not currently used in routine clinical practice. This review discusses the history, importance, and pitfalls of strain technology for the analysis of LA mechanics.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health, School of Medicine, Witten/Herdecke University, 58448 Witten, Germany.
authors.forename: Roman
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Leischik
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health, School of Medicine, Witten/Herdecke University, 58448 Witten, Germany.
authors.forename: Henning
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Littwitz
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health, School of Medicine, Witten/Herdecke University, 58448 Witten, Germany.
authors.forename: Birgit
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Dworrak
authors.affiliation: University of Leeds, Leeds Institute of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Medicine (LICAMM), Leeds LS2 9JT, UK.
authors.forename: Pankaj
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Garg
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Division of Cardiology, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97207, USA.
authors.forename: Meihua
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Division of Cardiology, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97207, USA.
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Sahn
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health, School of Medicine, Witten/Herdecke University, 58448 Witten, Germany.
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Horlitz
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016279:Atrial Function, Left; D018619:Echocardiography, Doppler, Pulsed / Q000266:history / Q000379:methods; D006325:Heart Atria / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D016277:Ventricular Function, Left