Left atrial dysfunction relates to symptom onset in patients with heart failure and preserved left ventricular ejection fraction

138 consecutive outpatients with suspected HF referred to a one-stop clinic, mean age 75 ± 9 years, 63% women. Final diagnosis: 23.2% HFrEF, 45.7% HFpEF, 31.2% non-HF.

Echocardiography with left atrial function analysis using strain derived from speckle tracking (analyzed in 83 sinus rhythm patients)

Comparison between HFpEF, HFrEF, and non-HF groups

Left atrial function parameters (strain rate) and their predictive ability for HF diagnosissurrogate