Objectives This study sought to observe the relationship between left atrial (LA) strain and left ventricular diastolic function and determine whether LA strain could be used to detect diastolic dysfunction (DD) and classify its degree when present. Background The assessment of diastolic function is complex and multiparametric because most conventional parameters do not follow the progression of DD. Strain imaging is an emerging index of LA function, with recent data demonstrating that LA strain is diminished in diastolic heart failure. However, LA strain is not part of the standard assessment of diastolic function. We hypothesized that LA strain decreases with worsening DD in a stepwise fashion and could thus be useful in evaluating DD. Methods We performed a retrospective derivation and validation cohort study to derive and test LA strain thresholds for DD grades (0 to 3) in patients with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (N = 229). Two-dimensional speckle tracking was used to measure peak LA strain, which was applied as a single parameter to classify DD. American Society of Echocardiography guidelines were used as the reference standard. Results In the derivation cohort (n = 90), peak LA strain was significantly different between DD groups, with gradual decreases seen with worsening DD. Receiver-operating characteristic analysis resulted in 3 distinct LA strain thresholds for categorization of DD grades, with good to excellent diagnostic utility (area under the curve: 0.86 to 0.91). In an independent validation group (n = 139) with a spectrum of diastolic function, 11 patients (8%) had indeterminate DD grades using standard criteria, whereas LA strain was measured in all patients and its cutoffs resulted in diagnostic accuracy up to 95%. Conclusions LA strain measurements are feasible and allow accurate categorization of DD, because unlike the traditional parameters, it changes progressively with severity of DD. LA strain may become a useful tool for diastolic assessment in future clinical practice.

R ight ventricular (RV) volumes and ejection fraction (EF)are important determinants of survival in patients with myocardial infarction, 1 systolic heart failure, 2-4 congenital heart disease, 5 and pulmonary arterial hypertension.6 Clinical Perspective on p 710Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) is the current gold standard for quantitation of RV geometry and function, but its widespread use is limited by costs, time consumption, and contraindications, making it unsuitable for patient screening or monitoring on large scale.One of the major breakthroughs of transthoracic threedimensional echocardiography (3DE) is the ability to measure RV volumes and EF, otherwise not feasible by standard two-dimensional (2D) echocardiography. 7 However, recent recommendations for RV quantitation 8 indicated that limited normative data are currently available for 3DE and, despite significant differences by age and sex for RV geometry and function were identified by CMR, 9 no reliable age-or sexspecific reference values can be recommended at present for 3DE. Paralleling the findings obtained with CMR, 9 we hypothesized that RV volumes and EF measured by 3DEBackground-Right ventricular (RV) volumes and ejection fraction (EF) vary significantly with demographic and anthropometric factors and are associated with poor prognosis in several cardiovascular diseases. This multicenter study was designed to (1) establish the reference values for RV volumes and EF using transthoracic three-dimensional (3D) echocardiography; (2) investigate the influence of age, sex, and body size on RV anatomy; (3) develop normative equations. Methods and Results-RV volumes (end-diastolic volume and end-systolic volume), stroke volume, and EF were measured by 3D echocardiography in 540 healthy adult volunteers, prospectively enrolled, evenly distributed across age and sex. The relation of age, sex, and body size parameters was investigated using bivariate and multiple linear regression. Analysis was feasible in 507 (94%) subjects (260 women; age, 45±16 years; range, 18-90). Age, sex, height, and weight significantly influenced RV volumes and EF. Sex effect was significant (P<0.01), with RV volumes larger and EF smaller in men than in women. Older age was associated with lower volumes (end-diastolic volume, −5 mLdecade; endsystolic volume, −3 mL/decade; EF, −2 mL/decade) and higher EF (+1% per decade). Inclusion of body size parameters in the statistical models resulted in improved overall explained variance for volumes (end-diastolic volume, R 2 =0.43; end-systolic volume, R 2 =0.35; stroke volume, R 2 =0.30), while EF was unaffected. Ratiometric and allometric indexing for age, sex, and body size resulted in no significant residual correlation between RV measures and height or weight. Conclusions-The MethodsHealthy volunteers were prospectively enrolled in 3 Italian tertiary centers (C1, C2, C3) having a large expertise in 3DE for RV quantification (>400 studies/y per center for both clinical and research purposes). Participating centers were asked to provi...

Despite the post-operative reduction of RV performance along the long axis suggested by TAPSE and PSV, the absence of a decrease in 3D RVEF leads to caution in the interpretation of these 2D and Doppler parameters after cardiac surgery, supporting the hypothesis of geometrical rather than functional changes in the right ventricle.