Analysis of left atrial auricle morphology and function to detect considerable risk factors regarding the prevention of stroke

Atrial Fibrillation (AF) is one of the main risk factors for cardio-embolic stroke. The aim of the present study was to define morphological and functional parameters of the left atrium (LA) and the LAA to get a better risk stratification regarding the stroke risk estimation in the low risk group according to the CHA2DS2-VASc-Score. In 331 patients (pts) transesophageal and transthoracic echocardiography was performed to characterise LA and LAA morphology and function. The following parameters were determined: left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (E/e'), biplane LA-v…