AHMET AKDİ, ALİ ERAYMAN, UMRAN OZDAMAR, ALPER BUGRA NACAR, MUSTAFA KURT
Acta Medica Anatolia - 2016;4(4):153-158
Introduction: The presence of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) due to arterial hypertension may impair atrial function. Also, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) represents a generalized myopathic process affecting both ventricular and atrial myocardium. In this study we aimed to evaluate left atrial volumes, phasic functions in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and hypertensive heart disease. Methods: The study consisted of 42 patients (25 men, 17 women; mean age 51.2 years) with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (n = 20) or hypertensive heart disease (n = 22). Two-dimensional echocardiographic left atrial volumes (maximal, minimal and pre-contraction volumes) were obtained and left atrial phasic functions (reservoir, conduit, and pumping functions) were calculated. The findings were compared with those of age- and sex-matched 20 controls (9 men, 11 women; mean age 44.2 years) without structural heart disease. Results: Left atrial volumes were found to be significantly increased in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and hypertensive heart disease compared with control groups. Left atrial reservoir and conduit functions were significantly lower in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy than in those with hypertensive heart disease and control groups (p < 0.01 and p < 0.01, respectively). There was no significant difference of left atrial pumping functions between study groups (p = 0.2). Conclusion: This study showed that left atrial minimal, maximal and pre-contraction volume indexes are increased in hypertensive and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy groups compared with control group, but there was no significant difference between hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and hypertensive patients. In hypertrophic cardiomyopathy group left atrial phasic functions, including conduit, reservoir and pump, were decreased significantly more than hypertensive and control group. In hypertensive patients left atrial phasic functions were decreased but compared with control group it did not reach statistical significance.
