Left Atrial Volume as a Predictor of Atrial Fibrillation in Patients with Arterial Hypertension

Abstract

Objective: to evaluate left atrial volume as a positive predictor of atrial fibrillation in hypertensive patients. Methods: analytical study, from January to December 2020, 44 hypertensive patients participated, 22 with atrial fibrillation and 22 without, diagnosed with hypertension, patients with valvular heart disease were excluded, the presence of atrial fibrillation was corroborated with electrocardiogram; echocardiography was performed with Phillips equipment and 5mHz transducer to evaluate left atrial volume. Both groups were compared with the Student’s t test for independent samples and the χ² test for comparison of categorical variables, statistical significance <0.05. Results: the average age of patients with atrial fibrillation was 71 years, while in patients without atrial fibrillation it was 61 years (p<0.015). A correlation of the time of evolution of arterial hypertension with the presence of atrial fibrillation was observed. Moderate (>42 ml/m2) to severe (>48 ml-7m2) left atrial volume was found in most patients in the atrial fibrillation group. A sensitivity of left atrial volume for atrial fibrillation of 73% with a specificity of 86%, a positive predictive value (ppv) of 84% and a negative predictive value (npv) of 76% were obtained. Conclusions: left atrial volume has a high positive predictive value for atrial fibrillation; the association between older age and time of evolution of hypertension with the development of atrial fibrillation was confirmed.