Early detection of left atrial dysfunction assessed by CMR feature tracking in hypertensive patients

Objectives To evaluate whether early left atrial (LA) dysfunction in hypertension (HTN), with or without left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), can be detected by cardiovascular magnetic resonance feature tracking (CMR-FT). Methods Seventy-three HTN patients and 29 healthy controls were retrospectively recruited. HTN patients were divided into the LVH ( n = 29) and non-LVH group ( n = 44). LA performance was analysed using CMR-FT in 2- and 4-chamber cine images, including LA reservoir function (total ejection fraction [EF], total strain [ ε s], peak positive strain rate [SRs]), conduit function (passive EF, passive strain [ ε e], peak early negative strain rate [SRe]) and booster pump function (booster EF, active strain [ ε a], late peak negative strain rate [SRa]). One-way analysis of variance with post hoc LSD tests, Spearman analysis, receiver operating characteristic curve and intra-class correlation coefficient analysis were applied for statistical analyses. Results Compared with healthy controls, LA reservoir (LA total EF, ε s, SRs) and conduit function (LA passive EF, ε e, SRe) were significantly impaired in HTN patients with or without LVH, and these parameters significantly correlated with mitral E/A