Purpose: We aimed to investigate the association of atrial fibrillation (AF) recurrence with left atrial (LA) strain in nonvalvular paroxysmal AF patients after cryoablation.
Methods: We included 190 patients who underwent successful cryoablation due to paroxysmal AF. In addition to classical echocardiographic data, LA apical 2-chamber (A2C) strain, LA apical 4-chamber (A4C) strain, and LA global longitudinal strain (LA-GLS) values were calculated by speckle tracking echocardiography. Forty-eight-hour Holter monitoring was performed to all patients no later than 6 months after ablation.
Results: AF recurrence was detected in 42 patients (22.1%). End-systolic diameter, LA end-systolic diameter, LA-volume, LA-volume index, interatrial septum thickness, coronary sinus diameter, epicardial fat thickness (EFT), and septal E/E` ratio were significantly higher, LV-EF, IVRT, septal S and A` wave, lateral S wave, LA-A2C strain, LA-A4C strain, and LA-GLS were significantly lower in patients with AF recurrence. LA-GLS, LA-volume index, and EFT were found to be independent parameters for predicting AF recurrence.
Conclusions: LA-GLS and LAVI should be included in routine evaluations to determine long-term AF recurrence preoperatively.
Keywords: Cryoablation; Left atrial global longitudinal strain; Paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.