Background: Speckle tracking echocardiography enables quantitative assessment of myocardial function using strain analyses. We aimed to assess the impact of restoration of sinus rhythm in patients with persistent atrial fibrillation (AF) on left ventricular (LV) function as assessed by longitudinal strain.
Methods: LV longitudinal strain was assessed in patients with persistent AF admitted to the Cardiology Department for electrical cardioversion. Echocardiography was performed one day before the procedure, and after cardioversion 10.5[8.0-28.7] days. All patients were in sinus rhythm during the second echocardiography. Peak systolic longitudinal strain was assessed in apical two-chamber, four-chamber, and long-axis views using speckle-tracking analysis. Global strain was calculated as the mean value of all segments. Wilcoxon log rank test was used for statistical analyses.
Results: 10 consecutive patients were included in the analyses; 4 males, 6 females; mean age 73.0±11.7. In all patients there was a significant improvement in LV strain following cardioversion. Mean longitudinal strain was -6.89±3.8 before cardioversion and -12.11±2.8 while in sinus rhythm, p = 0.007.
