Atrial myocardial deformation properties are temporarily reduced after cardioversion for atrial fibrillation and correlate well with left atrial appendage function

Abstract

Transthoracic atrial and TEE LAA strain and strain rate, which are quantitative measures of atrial function, are reduced after cardioversion, and recover subsequently. The good correlation between LAA function and TTE strain and strain rate suggests that TTE atrial parameters may help determine duration of anticoagulation.