Assessment of left atrial shape and volume in structural remodeling secondary to atrial fibrillation.

PURPOSE: Assessment of volume in relation with left atrial (LA) shape alteration before and after PV isolation. METHODS: We compared trapezoidal modification of LA using echocardiography with the ellipsoid formula (EEL: ) and CT, with both ellipsoid (CTEL: ) and truncated cone formulas (CTTR: ), in 40 patients, before and +/-3 months after AF ablation. RESULTS: A trapezoidal shape was present in 76.3% of patients. The different volume measurements were statistically correlated (r = 0.603-0.837, p < 0.001) irrespective of the formula used. After reverse remodeling, with 77.5% of patients in stable sinus rhythm, correlation coefficient for volume remained significant (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: In AF, dilation of the LA is associated with a geometrical trapezoidal change in many cases. The CT truncated cone formula applies best for precise evaluation of trapezoidal shape alteration in dilated AF atria. There is a good correlation between CTTR: and echocardiography which remains a valuable estimation for volume calculation in clinical practice