Correlation of left ventricular pressure changes and left atrial function on strain rate imaging during acute left ventricular ischemia

The objective of the present study was to evaluate whether left ventricular (LV) pressure changes influence left atrial (LA) function during acute LV ischemia by strain rate imaging. In 11 healthy dogs, the left anterior descending coronary artery was occluded to cause regional acute ischemia. The peak strain rate (PSR) values of the LA walls during the reservoir, conduit, and contractile phases of the LA cycle, as well as the LV pressures, were measured before and after ischemia. All PSR values increased significantly after ischemia (P < 0.001). Left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP) increased after ischemia (P < 0.0001) and its percent change was positively correlated with the LA contractile phase and conduit phase percent changes of PSR for the anterior and lateral walls of the atrium (r = 0.72, 0.72, 0.83, and 0.73; P = 0.05, 0.05, 0.002, and 0.01, respectively). LA function is influenced by the change of LVEDP during regional LV ischemia. There is a compensatory increase in wall motion after regional acute LV ischemia.