Introduction
Premature ventricular contraction (PVC) is a common arrhythmia affecting
around %1 of the population. PVC is typically asymptomatic, but it can
also cause palpitations, the sense of a skipped beat, chest discomfort,
dyspnea, fatigue, presyncope, or syncope. Although PVC is mostly benign,
it may increase the risk of cardiomyopathy or ventricular
tachyarrhythmias such as ventricular tachycardia and ventricular
fibrillation. [1-3]
PVC can affect ventricular function in a structurally normal heart, and
retrograde ventriculo-atrial conduction can also occur in PVC patients.
These retrograde atrial activations may resemble pulmonary vein-derived
atrial ectopies and raise the risk of atrial fibrillation (AF).
[4-6]
Numerous researchers have used speckle tracking echocardiography (STE)
to measure left atrial strain (LAS). Despite its effectiveness, the
therapeutic value of STE is limited by its thin-walled design, irregular
organization of myocytes in the LA, and intervenor variability. The
four-dimensional automated left atrial quantification (4D Auto LAQ) tool
is an analytical method that use three-dimensional volume data to
quantify the left atrial (LA) volume and left atrial longitudinal and
circumferential strains. [7-9]
This study aims to examine the relationship between PVC and abnormal LA
function as measured by LA strain evaluation using a 4D Auto LAQ.