Quantitative assessment of left atrial functions by speckle tracking echocardiography in hypertensive patients with and without retinopathy

Purpose The association between hypertensive retinopathy and left atrial (LA) impairment is unknown. Accordingly, it was aimed to investigate the possible relationship between hypertensive retinopathy and LA phasic functions by means of two‐dimensional speckle‐tracking echocardiography (2D‐STE). Methods A total of 124 hypertensive patients and 27 control subjects were included in the study. LA reservoir strain (LA S‐S ), LA conduit strain (LA S‐E ), and LA booster strain (LA S‐A ) parameters were used to evaluate LA myocardial functions. Results Hypertensive patients (with and without retinopathy) displayed an obvious reduction in the LA reservoir strain (LA S‐S ) , and LA conduit strain (LA S‐E ). Moreover, further impairment in LA reservoir and conduit strain was found in patients with hypertensive retinopathy than in the isolated hypertensive patients. There were no significant differences in LA booster strain (LA S‐A ) among the three groups. Impaired LA S‐S (OR: 0.764, CI: 0.657–0.888, and p < 0.001), LA S‐E (OR: 0.754, CI: 0.634–0.897, and p = 0.001), and hypertension (HT) duration (OR: 2.345, CI: 1.568–3.507, and p < 0.001) were shown to be independent predictors of hypertensive retinopathy. Conclusion Impaired LA reservoir and conduit strain may be used to predict hypertensive patients at higher risk of developing hypertensive retinopathy, and to determine which patients should be followed more closely for hypertensive retinopathy.