Stefano Fumagalli1, Marta Migliorini2, Simone Pupo2, Irene Marozzi2, Serena Boni2, Alessandra Scardia2, Alessandro Masi2, Anna T Roberts2, Luigi Padeletti3,4, Niccolò Marchionni2. 1. Geriatric Intensive Care Unit, Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence and AOU Careggi, Viale Pieraccini 6, 50139, Florence, Italy. fumadue@tin.it. 2. Geriatric Intensive Care Unit, Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence and AOU Careggi, Viale Pieraccini 6, 50139, Florence, Italy. 3. Electrophysiology Unit, Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence and AOU Careggi, Florence, Italy. 4. Cardiovascular Department, IRCCS MultiMedica, Milan, Italy.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The prevalence of atrial fibrillation (AF) and arterial stiffness (AS) increases with age. AIMS: To evaluate if AS is correlated to longitudinal strain (LS), a marker of left ventricular (LV) function, in elderly AF patients with preserved ejection fraction (EF) undergoing external cardioversion. METHODS: AS was measured using the cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI), LS was calculated from echocardiographic data of three consecutive cardiac cycles. RESULTS: We enrolled 38 patients (age 76 ± 8 years; men 60.5%; EF 65 ± 7%). LS and CAVI were, respectively, - 17.7 ± 3.7% and 9.7 ± 1.3. Multivariate analysis showed that LV performance was inversely related to height (p < 0.001) and to the presence of AF-related symptoms (p = 0.008). LS grew with increasing values of CAVI (p = 0.038). CONCLUSIONS: In elderly AF patients with preserved systolic function, LV performance is directly associated with AS. This link could influence atrium remodeling and the incidence of arrhythmia relapse.
BACKGROUND: The prevalence of atrial fibrillation (AF) and arterial stiffness (AS) increases with age. AIMS: To evaluate if AS is correlated to longitudinal strain (LS), a marker of left ventricular (LV) function, in elderly AFpatients with preserved ejection fraction (EF) undergoing external cardioversion. METHODS: AS was measured using the cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI), LS was calculated from echocardiographic data of three consecutive cardiac cycles. RESULTS: We enrolled 38 patients (age 76 ± 8 years; men 60.5%; EF 65 ± 7%). LS and CAVI were, respectively, - 17.7 ± 3.7% and 9.7 ± 1.3. Multivariate analysis showed that LV performance was inversely related to height (p < 0.001) and to the presence of AF-related symptoms (p = 0.008). LS grew with increasing values of CAVI (p = 0.038). CONCLUSIONS: In elderly AFpatients with preserved systolic function, LV performance is directly associated with AS. This link could influence atrium remodeling and the incidence of arrhythmia relapse.
Authors: T Shchetynska-Marinova; M Kranert; S Baumann; V Liebe; A Grafen; S Gerhards; S Rosenkaimer; I Akin; M Borggrefe; A L Hohneck Journal: Neth Heart J Date: 2021-11-24 Impact factor: 2.380