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Assessment of the Developmental Change in the Left Atrial Volume Using Real Time Three‐Dimensional Echocardiography
Author(s) -
Tanaka Noboru,
Takigiku Kiyohiro,
Takahashi Ken,
Kuraoka Ayako,
Matsui Kotoko,
Iwashima Satoru,
Nii Masaki,
Toyono Manatomo,
Takeuchi Masaaki,
Kishiro Masahiko,
Yasukochi Satoshi,
Shimizu Toshiaki
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
echocardiography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.404
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 1540-8175
pISSN - 0742-2822
DOI - 10.1111/echo.12829
Subject(s) - biplane , medicine , reproducibility , body surface area , cardiology , heart disease , mathematics , statistics , engineering , aerospace engineering
Aims Real time 3D echocardiography ( RT 3 DE ) has been applied for the assessment of left atrial ( LA ) function in patients with adult heart disease; however, LA function is not well known in children. We aimed at determining the normal range of LA volume ( LAV ) using RT 3 DE and the feasibility and reproducibility of this method in healthy subjects and at elucidating the developmental changes in the LAV with aging. Methods and Results In this study, 359 healthy people (mean age, 23.9 ± 21.3; range, 0.1–76.4 years) were enrolled. We performed transthoracic RT 3 DE and measured the maximum and minimum LAV . Simultaneously, we measured the LAV using the 2D biplane Simpson's method. Inter‐observer and intra‐observer variability and the agreement of LAV measurements between RT 3 DE and 2 DE were assessed in a subset of subjects. The RT 3 DE feasibility for LAV measurement was 93%. Both maximum and minimum LAV s exponentially increased with age and linearly increased with increasing of body surface area ( BSA ). The LA distensibility, which demonstrates LA reservoir function, decreased with age and BSA . The LAV s measured by RT 3 DE were significantly smaller than those measured by the 2D biplane Simpson's method. The 3D volumetric method had favorable intra‐observer and inter‐observer agreement. Conclusion The reference values of LAV from early infancy to adulthood were obtained using RT 3 DE , which could be useful for future studies in children with congenital heart disease. RT 3 DE is a reproducible method and a feasible tool for evaluating the LAV in children. LA reservoir function is likely to decrease with age and increasing of body size.