Mechanical and substrate abnormalities of the left atrium assessed by 3-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography and electroanatomic mapping system in patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation

BackgroundLeft atrial (LA) remodeling progresses to electrical remodeling, contractile remodeling, and subsequently structural remodeling. Little is known about the relationship between LA electrical and anatomical remodeling and LA mechanical function.ObjectivesWe aimed to clarify the relationship between LA mechanical function using 3-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography (3D-STE) and LA electrical remodeling using an electroanatomic mapping system (CARTO 3) and to estimate atrial fibrillation (AF) substrate in patients with paroxysmal AF (PAF).MethodsA total of 52 patients with PAF (41 (79%) men; mean age 61 ± 11 years) undergoing their initial pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) were examined. The standard deviation of the time to peak strain in each LA segment (%SD-TPS) was analyzed as an index of LA dyssynchrony using 3D-STE before PVI. Contact LA bipolar voltage and activation maps were constructed during sinus rhythm before PVI using CARTO 3. The LA total activation time was measured and low-voltage zones (LVZs) were determined with a local bipolar electrogram amplitude of <0.5 mV. The patients were divided into those with an LVZ (LVZ group; n = 23) and those without an LVZ (non-LVZ group; n = 29).ResultsThe %SD-TPS was significantly higher (14.1 ± 5.7 vs 8.0 ± 5.1; P = .0002) in the LVZ group than in the non-LVZ group and was an independent determinant of the LVZ (odds ratio 1.21; 95% confidence interval 1.04–1.49; P = .01). In addition, the LA total activation time was weakly correlated with the %SD-TPS.ConclusionLA dyssynchrony and conduction delay exist in patients with PAF. The 3D-STE enabled noninvasive estimation of LA electrical remodeling and AF substrate.