Abstract

MADY, Charles et al. Relation between left atrial dimension and exercise capacity in endomyocardial fibrosis. Arq. Bras. Cardiol. [online]. 2005, vol.84, n.3, pp. 222-224. ISSN 0066-782X.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0066-782X2005000300005.

OBJECTIVE: To assess whether exercise capacity is related to left atrial dimension (LAD) in patients with biventricular endomyocardial fibrosis. METHODS: This study comprised 38 patients in sinus rhythm, with a mean age of 37.5 ± 11.5 years (range, 11 to 59 years), 25 of whom were women. They were divided into 2 groups according to the NYHA functional class on hospital admission as follows: group A (12 patients) and group B (26 patients). All patients underwent cardiopulmonary exercise testing to determine their maximum oxygen consumption (VO₂ max), and their left atrial dimension was determined on echocardiography. RESULTS: The VO₂max values for groups A and B were 21.8 ± 4.8 mL.kg^-1.min^-1 and 13.7 ± 3.5 mL.kg^-1.min^-1, respectively, and the left atrial dimensions were 3.7±0.7cm and 4.4±0.7cm for groups A and B, respectively. A significant and inverse correlation was found between VO₂max and LAD in the groups studied. CONCLUSION: The increase in left atrial dimension is associated with impairment in exercise capacity in patients with endomyocardial fibrosis. Our findings support the use of left atrial dimension to estimate a more complex and difficult to assess index of functional capacity, such as VO₂max.

Keywords : left atrial dimension; exercise capacity; endomyocardial fibrosis.