Could echocardiographic left atrial characterization have additive value for detecting risks of atrial arrhythmias and stroke in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy?

Aims Atrial arrhythmia (AA) is considered a turning point for prognosis in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). We sought to assess whether the occurrence of AA and stroke could be estimated by an echocardiographic evaluation. Methods and results A total of 216 patients with HCM (52 +/- 16 years old) were analysed. All patients underwent transthoracic echocardiography for the evaluation of left atrial volume (LAV), peak left atrial strain (PLAS), and peak atrial contraction strain. The patients were followed for 2.9 years for the occurrence of a composite endpoint including AA and/or stroke and peripheral embolism. Among the 216 patients, 78 (36%) met the composite endpoint. These patients were older (57.1 +/- 14.4 vs. 50.3 +/- 16.7 years; P = 0.0035), had a higher prevalence of arterial hypertension (62.3 vs. 42.3%; P = 0.005), and had higher NT-proBNP. The LAV (47 +/- 20 vs. 37.2 +/- 15.7 mL/m(2); P = 0.0001) was significantly higher in patients who met the composite endpoint, whereas PLAS was significantly impaired (19.3 +/- 9.54 vs. 26.6 +/- 9.12%; P < 0.0001). After adjustment, PLAS was independently associated with events with an odds ratio of 0.42 (95% confidence interval 0.29-0.61; P < 0.0001). Stroke occurred in 67% of the patients without any clinical AA. The PLAS with a cut-off of under 15.5% provided event prediction with 91% specificity. Using a 15% cut-off, PLAS also demonstrated a predictive value for new-onset of AA. Conclusion The decrease in PLAS was strongly associated with the risk of stroke, even in patients without any documented AA. Its value for guiding the management of patients with HCM requires further investigation.