Left atrial strain in acute myocardial infarction

Background. The ejection fraction (EF), diastolic dysfunction of the left ventricle (LV) and its volumes play the main role for prognosis assessment. Measurement of left atrial strain is a new method of noninvasive investigation of mechanical function.Aim: To investigate the mechanical function of the left atrium in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) with different degrees of left ventricular ejection fraction reduction.Methods. We studied 60 patients with acute ST-segment elevation anterior myocardial infarction. Echocardiography was performed in the first day of acute infarction. The left atrium was assessed by phase volumes, as well as by strain and strain rate using speckle-tracking. 35 healthy subjects were investigated for control. The patients were divided into 4 groups: Group 1 - LV EF 50-60%, Group 2 - LV EF 40-49%, Group 3 - LV EF 30-39%, Group 4 - LV EF 20-29%.Results. There were no significant differences in left atrial volumes between patients in groups 1-3 and healthy patients. Left atrial volume was increased in the fourth group. In the first group, peak longitudinal atrial strain (PALS) was significantly reduced compared with control group (PALS 22% vs 32.4%, p function show_eabstract() { $('#eabstract1').hide(); $('#eabstract2').show(); $('#eabstract_expand').hide(); }