Clinical and Echocardiographic Predictors of Left Atrial Thrombus Formation

Aim: To investigate the relation between left atrial appendix function derived from quantitativetissue Doppler analysis and left atrial thrombus (LAT) existence. Methods: Fifty-six patients who had undergone transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) withdifferent diagnosis (31 female, 25 male with a mean age of 58 ± 18 years) were included in thestudy. Demographic, clinical and echocardiographic variables of the patients with and withoutLAT on their TEE were compared.Results: Atrial fibrillation was significantly more frequent in patients with LAT. The differencebetween mean ejection fractions was almost reached significance. However, left atrial andventricular tissue Doppler variables were similar between the two groups. Combined data oflower ejection fraction and atrial fibrillation predicted LAT with 85 % specificity. Conclusion: There is no statistical significance relation between left atrial appendix andventricular functions derived from quantitative tissue Doppler analysis and left atrial thrombus(LAT) existence.