Correlations between left atrial volumes and strains in healthy adults: Detailed analysis from the three‐dimensional speckle‐tracking echocardiographic MAGYAR‐Healthy Study

Introduction Little is known about the relationship between left atrium (LA) volumes and contractility features along the cardiac cycle. The present study aimed to assess, by three‐dimensional speckle‐tracking echocardiography (3DSTE), correlations between LA volumes, volume‐based functional properties, and strains during the cardiac cycle in healthy adults. Methods We included 217 healthy adult volunteers (mean age 33.4 ± 12.7 years, 112 males) who underwent complete two‐dimensional Doppler echocardiography with 3DSTE. Results LA stroke volumes were greater in subjects with the greater maximum LA volume (V max ) in reservoir, conduit, and booster pump phases of LA function. While LA emptying fraction in LA reservoir phase was not different between subjects depending in their V max value, a significantly lower LA emptying fraction could be detected in LA conduit phase in subjects whose V max was >50 mL. In booster pump function, LA emptying fraction was not significantly different whatever the V max . Only global and mean segmental peak LA radial strain (RS) and 3D strain (3DS) and the same strains at atrial contraction appeared greater in subjects with greater V max , whereas the other strain parameters were not different. Conclusions In healthy subjects, LA‐RS and LA‐3DS, objective features of LA contractility, are greater in subjects with greater LA volumes up to a point beyond which this association disappears.