title: Left atrial strain: A useful index in atrial fibrillation.
abstract: Left atrial (LA) strain is a speckle tracking echocardiography (STE)-derived parameter applied to the analysis of chamber function that provides highly reproducible measures of LA deformation by a non-Doppler, angle-independent quantification. In recent years, data regarding accuracy and clinical application of LA strain are rapidly increasing. This review describes the main features of LA strain and examines the role of STE in the evaluation of various aspects of AF, as the risk of developing the arrhythmia in general population, the evaluation of LA fibrosis and LA impairment, the quantification of cardioembolic risk and of recurrence after cardioversion or ablation therapies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Diseases, University of Siena, Policlinico "Le Scotte", Viale Bracci 1, 53100 Siena, Italy. Electronic address: matteo.cameli@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cameli
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Diseases, University of Siena, Policlinico "Le Scotte", Viale Bracci 1, 53100 Siena, Italy.
authors.forename: Giulia Elena
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Mandoli
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Diseases, University of Siena, Policlinico "Le Scotte", Viale Bracci 1, 53100 Siena, Italy.
authors.forename: Ferdinando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Loiacono
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Diseases, University of Siena, Policlinico "Le Scotte", Viale Bracci 1, 53100 Siena, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sparla
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Diseases, University of Siena, Policlinico "Le Scotte", Viale Bracci 1, 53100 Siena, Italy.
authors.forename: Elisabetta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Iardino
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Diseases, University of Siena, Policlinico "Le Scotte", Viale Bracci 1, 53100 Siena, Italy.
authors.forename: Sergio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mondillo
mesh_terms: D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D061827:Dimensional Measurement Accuracy; D004452:Echocardiography / Q000379:methods*; D006325:Heart Atria / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans
keywords: Atrial fibrillation; Echocardiography; Left atrium; Speckle tracking; Strain