Network member Peter Selmer Rønningen and coworkers investigated the long-term impact of blood pressure on left atrial volumes. The study was performed as part of the Akershus Cardiac Examination (ACE) 1950 Study where 74% of the participants also had data from a nationwide cardiovascular health screening survey, conducted 24 years earlier.

Left atrial size is a strong prognosticator of cardiovascular events, including atrial fibrillation. Blood pressure is established as a factor upstream of left atrial dilatation, but there is limited data on the long-term impact of blood pressure on echocardiographic left atrial indices.

The investigators found an independent association between systolic blood pressure in the early forties and left atrial volumetric indices two decades later. Diastolic blood pressure exhibited a weaker association, not statistically significant in multivariable analyses. The findings suggests that blood pressure in the early forties is relevant for left atrial dilatation later in life.

The results are published in Journal of the American Heart Assocation.
Read the article here.

Categories: NEWS