Transthoracic Tissue Doppler Assessment of Left Atrial Appendage Contraction and Relaxation: Their Changes with Aging

Abstract

Transthoracic TDE can provide information on LAA function. LAA relaxation may be impaired with aging and may be accompanied by early diastolic left ventricular dysfunction and chronic overload to the left atrium.

High Plasma Human Atrial Natriuretic Peptide and Reduced Transthoracic Left Atrial Appendage Wall‐Motion Velocity Are Noninvasive Surrogate Markers for Assessing Thrombogenesis in Patients with Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation

“…As described previously, the corresponding measurements for transthoracic tissue Doppler echocardiography were as follows: frame rate, 78 frames/sec; frequency, 3.9 MHz; and sampling volume width, 3.2 mm. These measurement specifications are similar to our earlier studies …”

“…We have shown that HANP values had a significant negative correlation with LAA wall‐motion velocity. As LAA wall‐motion velocity was found to be closely correlated with LAA flow velocity, lower LAA function may be related to higher HANP values.…”

“…On the other hand, recent developments in transthoracic tissue Doppler echocardiography may provide a noninvasive assessment of left atrial appendage (LAA) function in patients with sinus rhythm and AF . Several investigations, including ours, have shown that low LAA wall‐motion velocity as assessed by transthoracic tissue Doppler echocardiography, is a risk for thromboembolism in patients with AF .…”

Left Atrial Appendage Exclusion for Atrial Fibrillation

“…The LAA is a rich source of cardiac progenitor cells. 50 In humans, LAA relaxation declines with age, 51 as does the thickness of pectinate muscles. 30 …”

Contemporary echocardiographic assessment of atrial appendages in non-valvular atrial fibrillation

“…The LAA apex velocity parameters are closely related to traditional parameters of LAA function, such as ejection velocity, and can be determined by TTE in most patients, even at suboptimal visualisation [19,53,54]. Besides, significant reduction of the LAA apex movement, the velocity is associated with a higher degree of SEC and more frequent detection of LAA thrombosis by TEE [2,18,19,54]. Therefore, the reduced LAA apex movement velocity might be a potential noninvasive marker of LAA dysfunction and predictor of TF.…”