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Thor Edvardsen, The continued discovery of left atrial function, European Heart Journal - Cardiovascular Imaging, Volume 13, Issue 3, March 2012, Pages 203–204, https://doi.org/10.1093/ehjci/jes014
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This editorial refers to ‘Left atrial function assessed by speckle tracking echocardiography as a predictor of new-onset non-valvular atrial fibrillation: results from a prospective study in 580 adults’ by T. Hirose et al., on pages 243–250.
Emerging attention has recently been brought to research about left atrial (LA) function.1,2 Earlier scientific work on LA has been concentrated about size and volumes, while newer research also includes function. LA function is indeed very complex due to the close coupling with the left ventricle (LV) and the many factors that will affect LA size and form.3 Imaging assessment of LA function is, therefore, challenging and even more demanding compared with LV due to several reasons. The thin walls of LA combined with the location in thorax make the technical aspects of imaging difficult. Surrounding structures may also influence on the imaging results due to their higher signal noise.
The major reason why research on atrial function has been intensified during the latest years is use of modern echocardiographic techniques such as tissue Doppler and speckle-tracking imaging. These modalities have really helped us to understand the complex LA deformation pattern. It has become easy to accept that LA is an active chamber playing an essential role in the interplay between LV and LA. The different phases of the LA function have been difficult or even impossible to explore in details with the older imaging techniques alone without simultaneous measurements of pressures. We can now expect a progress in studies of LA function assessed by the speckle-tracking technique like we have seen about LV function after the introduction of this method.4 This will further increase our knowledge of the reservoir, conduit, and contractile phases of LA function.
