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How to Assess the Left and Right Atria in Clinical Practice

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Case-Based Textbook of Echocardiography

Abstract

Both, left atrial and right atrial sizes provide important diagnostic and prognostic information. Therefore, their assessment is a part of routine echocardiographic examination. Various techniques have been proposed—from linear measurement by M-mode to volume measurement by three-dimensional echocardiography—each having its strengths and limitations. Another part of routine echocardiographic examination is the assessment of inferior vena cava, reflecting right atrial pressures.

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Abbreviations

2D:

Two-dimensional

BSA:

Body surface area

IVC:

Inferior vena cava

LA:

Left atrium/left atrial

LAA:

Left atrial appendage

LAV:

Left atrial volume

LAVI:

Left atrial volume index

RA:

Right atrium/right atrial

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Correspondence to Piotr Lipiec MD, PhD, FESC, FACC .

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Lipiec, P., Kasprzak, J.D. (2018). How to Assess the Left and Right Atria in Clinical Practice. In: Sadeghpour, A., Alizadehasl, A. (eds) Case-Based Textbook of Echocardiography. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-67691-3_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-67691-3_15

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-67689-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-67691-3

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