| REVIEW ARTICLE |
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| Year : 2014 | Volume
: 24
| Issue : 3 | Page : 72-77 |
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Left Atrium: Still a neglected chamber?
Maria Chiara Todaro1, Bijoy K Khandheria2
1 Cardiology Unit, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Messina, Messina, Italy
2 Aurora Cardiovascular Services, Aurora Sinai/Aurora St. Luke's Medical Centers, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Wisconsin, USA
Correspondence Address:
Bijoy K Khandheria
Aurora Cardiovascular Services 2801W. Kinnickinnic River Parkway, #840
USA
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/2211-4122.143967
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It is widely recognized that an effective cardiovascular system is based upon both a good ventricular-vascular interplay and a good ventricular-atrial interaction in all the phases of cardiac cycle. Moreover, left atrial dysfunction has been identified to be contributory in several common cardiovascular conditions, such as heart failure, atrial fibrillation and valvular heart disease; for instance, a good anatomical and functional assessment of this cardiac chamber is mandatory. For this purpose a multimodality imaging approach - including two-dimensional and three-dimensional echocardiography, speckle tracking technique, cardiac computed tomography (CT) and cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) - is the most suitable one to achieve the best functional and anatomical evaluation of this cardiac chamber. |
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