Left atrial appendage dysfunction in acute embolic stroke young patients with sinus rhythm: Correlation with Tissue Doppler mitral annular systolic velocity

BackgroundTrans-esophageal echocardiogram (TEE) is a gold standard test for diagnosis of left atrial (LA) appendage function.AimTo evaluate left atrial appendage (LAA) dysfunction using mitral annular systolic velocity measured by tissue Doppler imaging “Sm” in acute embolic stroke young patients with sinus rhythm.MethodsTransthoracic (TTE) and transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) were performed in 70 consecutive patients with sinus rhythm without obvious left ventricular dysfunction within 2 weeks after embolic stroke. Two groups were identified: LAA dysfunction [LAA emptying peak flow velocity (LAA-eV) <0.55 m/s, n = 28, age 52 ± 11 years] and without LAA dysfunction (LAA-eV ≥ 0.55 m/s, n = 42, age 54 ± 10 years) on TEE. Tissue Doppler mitral annular systolic velocity “Sm” was obtained in apical four chambers view on TTE and D-dimer level estimated for all patients.ResultsSm was significantly lower in patients with than in those without LAA dysfunction (P < 0.0001). There was a significant correlation between Sm, LAVI, LAEF%, E/A ratio and LAA-eV in all selected patients groups. The optimum cut-off value of Sm for predicting LAA dysfunction was below or equal 8 cm/s (sensitivity 89.6% and specificity 94.2%).ConclusionTissue Doppler mitral annular systolic velocity is an independent non-invasive easy predictor of LAA dysfunction and significantly correlated with LAA-eV (p < 0.0001) in acute embolic stroke young patients with sinus rhythm.