Left Atrium by Echocardiography in Clinical Practice: From Conventional Methods to New Echocardiographic Techniques

Table 1

Disease	LA function mainly impaired	Advantages	Extensive clinical data
Atrial fibrillation	Reservoir and conduit decreases; pump absent	Prediction of sinus rhythm maintenance after cardioversion	Yes
Mitral stenosis	Reservoir	Prediction of adverse events (AF, symptoms, hospitalization, thromboembolic events, valvular surgery, and percutaneous commissurotomy)	Yes
Mitral regurgitation	Reservoir	Prediction of AF, cardiac surgery, and LA fibrosis	Yes
Aortic stenosis	Pump	Prediction of adverse outcomes	No
Diastolic dysfunction	Conduit (early stage); pump and reservoir (late stage)	Elevated filling pressure	Yes
Dilated cardiomyopathy	Pump and reservoir	Responsivity to cardiac resincronization therapy	No
Diabetes mellitus	Pump, reservoir, and conduit	Early sign of atrial fibrosis	No
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy	Reservoir	Prediction of AF and the onset of symptoms of heart failure	Yes
Amyloidosis	Reservoir	Early LA involvement in absence of the classic echocardiographic features	No
Hypertension	Reservoir	Prediction of myocardial involvement before LA enlargment and LV hypertrophy	Yes