P1406 Normal reference values of right atrial strain parameters using three-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography in healthy adults

Abstract Introduction Classic echocardiographic methodologies offer limited opportunities in assessing right atrial (RA) morphology and function. Three-dimensional (3D) speckle-tracking echocardiography (3DSTE) is a novel imaging method with objective 3D capability in assessing volumetric and functional properties of heart chambers. Normal reference values of different 3DSTE-derived RA strains are not available, therefore the aim of this prospective study was to establish these parameters in healthy subjects. Methods The present study comprised 295 healthy volunteers, from which 110 were excluded due to inadequate image quality. The final population consisted of 185 healthy subjects in the present study (mean age: 32.1 ± 12.2 years, 89 males). Complete two-dimensional echocardiography and 3DSTE have been performed in all cases. Results While radial strain (RS) does not change significantly over the years in males, RS increases with age most significantly between 40-49 years, and it starts to decline at the age of 50 years in females. While females have higher circumferential strain (CS) and area strain (AS) values, RS decreases with age in both gender. While longitudinal strain (LS) remains almost unchanged in females until 40-49 years and declines above the age of 50 years in females, it decreases over decades in males. 3D strain (3DS) increases with ages in both gender, but almost doubles in females in older ages. While RS at atrial contraction does not change over decades in males, an obvious increase could be seen in females with a higher value between 40-49 years and a decline over 50 years. A decrease could be seen in CS at atrial contraction in males over decades, it is almost tripled in value between 40-49 years in females. Although LS at atrial contraction is higher in females, it decreases over decades in both genders. AS decreases over decades in males, while females have almost doubled AS values at the ages 40-49 years. 3DS is almost unchanged in males, while doubled in older ages in females. During evaluations, 110 subjects were excluded due to inferior image quality from the total of 295 enrolled subjects, therefore the overall feasibility of 3DSTE-derived RA quantification was 185 out of 295 (63% overall feasibility). Conclusion 3DSTE-derived RA normal reference values with age- and gender-dependency are demonstrated in a healthy population.