2021•Internal MedicineOpen access
Clinical Significance of the Left Atrial Appendage Orifice Area
Yusuke Miki, Yasuhiro Uchida, Akihito Tanaka, Akihiro Tobe, Keisuke Sakakibara, Takashi Kataoka, Kiyoshi Niwa, Kenji Furusawa, Hitoshi Ichimiya, Junji Watanabe, Masaaki Kanashiro, Hideki Ishii, Satoshi Ichimiya, Toyoaki Murohara
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Abstract
(interquartile range 2.92-5.40). The large LAA orifice group were older (67.2±10.4 vs. 62.4±15.3 years, p=0.02), more often had hypertension (66.7% vs. 44.6%, p=0.007), and atrial fibrillation (70.7% vs. 39.2%, p<0.001) than the small LAA orifice group. Regarding the TEE findings, the LAA flow velocity was significantly lower (33.7±20.0 vs. 50.2±24.3, p<0.001) and spontaneous echo contrast was more often observed (21.3% vs. 8.1%, p=0.02) in the large LAA orifice group. Multivariate models demonstrated that atrial fibrillation was an independent predictor of the LAA orifice area. In the analysis of atrial fibrillation duration, the LAA orifice area tended to be larger as patients had a longer duration of atrial fibrillation. Conclusion Our findings indicated that a larger LAA orifice area was associated with the presence of atrial fibrillation and high thromboembolic risk based on TEE findings. A continuation of the atrial fibrillation rhythm might lead to the gradual expansion of the LAA orifice.
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