Why the study?
How does echocardiographic estimation of left atrial size from the apical view compare to the parasternal view?
How does echocardiographic estimation of left atrial size from the apical view compare to the parasternal view?
Left atrial size measured from the apical view is significantly larger than from the parasternal view, suggesting both should be measured routinely with an upper normal limit of 45 mm for the apical view.
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Apical LA size exceeds parasternal; leaves open whether dual-view protocols improve assessment in observational cohorts.
Left atrial (LA) size was estimated from the apical and parasternal (pst) views in 113 patients (37 with aortic and 23 with mitral valvular lesions, 22 with cardiomyopathies and other heart diseases and 25 cardiovascularly healthy subjects). There was a significant correlation between the two measurements of the LA [LA (apex) = −3.1 + 1.2 LA pst (mm, r= 0.82, s.d. = 9.1)]. The apical measurement was significantly greater than the parasternal (P < 0.001). A considerable individual variation was found in the relationship between the parasternal and the apical LA measurement and this could not be correlated with body or thorax dimensions nor with diagnosis. It therefore seems advisable to measure the left atrium routinely from both the parasternal and the apical positions. We suggest that the upper limit of normal for the left atrium in the apex view should be taken as 45 mm.
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Gradin-Frimmer et al. (1982) studied this question.
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