Department of Cardiology, Osaka Medical and Pharmaceutical University, 2-7, Daigaku-Machi, Takatsuki, Osaka, 569-8686, Japan.
Cardiovascular Division, Hokusetsu General Hospital, Takatsuki, Japan.
Heart Fail Rev. 2023 Sep;28(5):1177-1187. doi: 10.1007/s10741-023-10298-2. Epub 2023 Feb 17.
The left atrial appendage (LAA) is considered not only to be the most frequent site of thrombus formation, but also to play a pivotal role in maintaining normal cardiac function. Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is widely used to assess LAA function. The LAA flow velocity has been used as a surrogate for LAA function, and it varies with multiple interrelated factors including age, hemodynamics, type of arrhythmia, and antiarrhythmic interventions. Relatively great importance of LAA function is involved with intraatrial thrombus formation and subsequent thromboembolism, and thus, understanding of characteristics and behaviors of the LAA under various clinical conditions may help determine strategies against atrial thrombosis. Also, techniques other than TEE-derived Doppler to assess LAA function, such as tissue Doppler imaging, have been proposed. In this review, we introduce clinical and echocardiographic correlates of LAA function, the LAA flow velocity in particular, its significance, and how to interpret functional patterns of the LAA each relevant to specific clinical settings.
左心耳（LAA）不仅被认为是血栓形成最常见的部位，而且在维持正常心脏功能方面也起着关键作用。经食管超声心动图（TEE）广泛用于评估 LAA 功能。LAA 流速已被用作 LAA 功能的替代指标，其随多种相互关联的因素而变化，包括年龄、血流动力学、心律失常类型和抗心律失常干预。LAA 功能与左心耳内血栓形成和随后的血栓栓塞密切相关，因此，了解各种临床情况下 LAA 的特征和行为可能有助于确定对抗心房血栓形成的策略。此外，还提出了其他评估 LAA 功能的 TEE 衍生多普勒技术，例如组织多普勒成像。在这篇综述中，我们介绍了 LAA 功能的临床和超声心动图相关性，特别是 LAA 流速，及其意义，以及如何解释与特定临床情况相关的 LAA 的功能模式。
