Open AccessAssessment of abnormal left atrial relaxation by transesophageal pulsed doppler echocardiography of pulmonary venous flow velocity
Author(s) -
Oki Takashi,
Tabata Tomotsugu,
Yamada Hirotsugu,
Fukuda Kazuyo,
Abe Miho,
Onose Yukiko,
Wakatsuki Tetsuzo,
Iuchi Arata,
Ito Susumu
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
clinical cardiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.263
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1932-8737
pISSN - 0160-9289
DOI - 10.1002/clc.4960211011
Subject(s) - medicine , cardiology , doppler echocardiography , doppler effect , left atrium , flow velocity , relaxation (psychology) , diastole , atrial fibrillation , blood pressure , physics , astronomy
Background : Several studies on left ventricular relaxation have been undertaken in the past: however, left atrial (LA) relaxation has not been fully evaluated. Hypothesis : The purpose of this study was to assess abnormalities in LA relaxation by evaluating pulmonary venous flow velocity and interatrial septal motion using transesophageal echocardiography. Methods : The subjects were 56 untreated patients in sinus rhythm, including 25 with previous myocardial infarction, 9 with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, 11 with dilated cardiomyopathy, as well as 11 with chest pain syndrome as controls. Peak first systolic velocity (PVS 1 ), peak atrial systolic velocity (PVA), and their time‐velocity integrals (PVS 1 ‐I and PVA‐I, respectively) were calculated from the pulmonary venous flow velocity. Results : The PVS 1 and PVS 1 ‐I correlated negatively with the maximum LA dimension and mean pulmonary capillary wedge pressure, and correlated positively with the amplitude of the interatrial septal motion during LA relaxation and percent fractional LA relaxation. The PVA and PVA‐I did not correlate with the mean pulmonary capillary wedge pressure. There was a weak positive correlation between PVA and PVS 1 , and a close positive correlation between the ratio of PVA to PVS 1 and mean pulmonary capillary wedge pressure. Multiple regression analysis indicated that the PVS 1 was most closely related to percent fractional LA relaxation, followed by mean pulmonary capillary wedge pressure. Conclusion : The PVS 1 determined from the pulmonary venous flow velocity is closely related to parameters of LA relaxation which may be determined by transesophageal M‐mode echocardiography, and the ratio of PVA to PVS 1 is useful for noninvasive evaluation of LA pressure..