Figure 3.
LA strain in aortic stenosis. These are two example cases of patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS). The upper panel is of a 62-year-old patient who is severely symptomatic, while the lower panel is of a 46-year-old patient with asymptomatic AS with a bicuspid aortic valve. Interestingly, the left atrial strain (LAS) is severely reduced in the patient in the upper panel, directly correlating with his symptoms. On the other hand, it is preserved in the patient in the lower panel despite this patient having secondary changes due to AS with severe left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy. Of note, the ejection fraction (EF) for the patient in the upper panel is 60–65%, with an LV mass of 118 g/m2, while the EF for the patient in the lower panel is 65–70% with an LV mass of 135 g/m2. This figure was obtained from the authors’ personal collection.