title: Association of left atrial enlargement with ventricular remodeling in hypertensive Chinese elderly.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  It is not well known whether left atrial (LA) enlargement is associated with left ventricular (LV) remodeling in Asian subjects with preserved LV ejection fraction (LVEF ≥50%). Therefore, we studied whether LA enlargement is related to ventricular remodeling in hypertensive Chinese elderly with preserved LVEF.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data of 480 hypertensive Chinese elderly (age from 65 to 94 years) with LVEF ≥50% were consecutively included in the study.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We observed a total of 248 patients (51.7%) with increased LA size. Univariate analysis showed that LA size was positively related to duration of hypertension, prevalence of coronary heart disease and atrial fibrillation, interventricular septal thickness, LV posterior wall thickness, LV end-diastolic and end-systolic diameter, LV mass index, right ventricular (RV) diameter and aortic diameter; meanwhile, LA size was inversely related to LVEF and relative wall thickness of LV. Multivariate regression analysis showed that LA enlargement was positively related to duration of hypertension (P=.012) and RV diameter (P<.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Left atrial enlargement is independently associated with a longer duration of hypertension and RV dilative remodeling in hypertensive elderly with preserved LVEF. LA enlargement is an early sign of RV eccentric remodeling in hypertensive elderly.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Geriatrics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: Institute of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.|Department of Medicine, Central Finland Central Hospital, Jyväskylä, Finland.
authors.forename: Jari A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Laukkanen
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Geriatrics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Qianping
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Geriatrics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Liping
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Geriatrics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Xu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Geriatrics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Gang
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6547-8708
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002681:China; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006325:Heart Atria / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D020257:Ventricular Remodeling / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: elderly; essential hypertension; left atrial enlargement; ventricular remodeling