The correlation between the left atrial volume index and atrial fibrillation development in heart failure with mildly reduced ejection fraction and long-term follow-up results.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

The European Society of Cardiology has recently defined heart failure (HF) patient group with a left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) of 41-49% as a different category with the term heart failure with mildly reduced ejection fraction (HFmrEF). In this study, we aimed to conduct a research about the correlation between left atrial volume index (LAVI) and atrial fibrillation in patients HFmrEF.

METHODS:

A total of 282 patients HFmrEF who were admitted to the cardiology department from three different centres were included in the study. The study was planned as multicenter, cross-sectional study. The patients were divided into two groups as sinus rhythm and atrial fibrillation based on their electrocardiographic findings.

RESULTS:

It was found out that Nt-ProBNP, LA area, LAVI, pulmonary artery pressure, and severe mitral regurgitation rates were significantly higher in the AF group (p < 0.001). ROC analysis resulting in LAVI > 30.5 had 64% sensitivity and 66% specificity in the predicting presence of AF (ROC area under the curve: 0.660, 95% CI: 0.587-0.733, p < 0.001). We also observed that the LA area being >16.55 predicting presence of AF with 60% sensitivity and 58% specificity (ROC area under the curve: 0.624, 95% CI: 0.549-0.699, p = 0.002).

CONCLUSION:

In the study conducted, we found a correlation between AF and LAVI values in patients in the HFmrEF group. If the LAVI value increases in the follow-up of this group of patients with echocardiography, close follow-up in terms of AF may allow the early control and treatment of AF-related incidents.

• Authors: Tuncay Güzel, Mehmet Kış, Oktay Şenöz
• Journal: Acta cardiologica (Acta Cardiol) Vol. 77 Issue 7 Pg. 647-654 (Sep 2022) ISSN: 1784-973X [Electronic] England
• PMID: 35466864 (Publication Type: Multicenter Study, Journal Article)

Topics

• Humans
• Stroke Volume
• Atrial Fibrillation (complications, diagnosis, epidemiology)
• Follow-Up Studies
• Ventricular Function, Left
• Cross-Sectional Studies
• Heart Atria (diagnostic imaging)
• Heart Failure (diagnosis, epidemiology)