[M-mode echocardiography study of the left atrium, precordial and suprasternal: a comparative echocardiography angiocardiography study].

This study of 30 patients evaluates whether the size of the left atrium can be estimated echocardiographically with the precordial and suprasternal approach. Simultaneous imaging of the left atrium from both planes was possible in 24 patients. Angiographically, left atrial volume amounted to 107 +/- 69 ml for the minimal and 153 +/- 63 ml for the maximal left atrial size during the cardiac cycle. In each case, the diameter values of the left atrium were greatest from the suprasternal approach (p less than 0.001). All angiographic parameters were larger than the corresponding echocardiographic values (p less than 0.001). The study demonstrates that the size of the left atrium cannot be estimated reliably from biplane m-mode echocardiographic parameters.