Estimating left atrial enlargement parameters from the electrocardiogram using wavelets

BackgroundThe aim of this article was to examine the utility of using the P wave of the electrocardiogram to indicate left atrial enlargement measures determined from the echocardiogram and cardiac magnetic resonance.MethodWavelet-based features extracted from the beat-averaged P wave were correlated to the left atrial diameter, left atrial area, and left atrial volume index measures from echocardiogram and cardiac magnetic resonance.ResultsSignificant correlations were found between several of the wavelet features and the left atrial enlargement size measures (r > 0.5, P < .01). Left atrial diameter and left atrial area correlated best to the derived Z lead, and left atrial volume index correlated best to the derived X lead.ConclusionsThe good correlations illustrate that it is feasible to estimate the size of the left atrium from the P wave using wavelet techniques.