The February JASE includes, “Association between Isometric and Allometric Height-Indexed Left Atrial Size and Atrial Fibrillation,” by Flemming Javier Olsen, MD, et al. Dr. Olsen said, “Quantifying left atrial (LA) size is an essential part of the echocardiographic examination, however, indexation to body surface area may provide a misguided impression of atrial size in obese patients. Based on data from the Copenhagen City Heart Study, we proposed normal reference values for LA size indexed to height by various indexing methods. We further showed that LA size by height-based indexation was associated with an increased risk of incident atrial fibrillation, also in obese subjects, and may therefore serve as an alternative for assessing LA size in such individuals.” This clinical investigation topic is explored in a complementary editorial by JASE Associate Editors Brian D. Hoit, MD, FASE, and Sheldon E. Litwin, MD, FASE, “The New Normal: How Should We Assess Cardiac Chamber Sizes and Proportionality across the Full Spectrum of Body Sizes with Varying Degrees of Adiposity?” An additional article in this area by Singh et al. elucidates echocardiographic assessment of the LA.
Other clinical investigations in this issue explore mitral annular disjunction, prediction by echocardiography of heart failure risk in patients with coronary artery disease, POCUS screening of valve disease (accompanied by an editorial), mechanical tricuspid prosthetic valve function, and the diagnostic yield of fetal echocardiography indications. Several Letters to the Editor and Brief Research Communications round out this issue’s scientific matter.
The February CME article is “Mitral Annular Disjunction of Degenerative Mitral Regurgitation: Three-Dimensional Evaluation and Implications for Mitral Repair,” by Benjamin Essayagh, MD, et al.
This month, which is American Heart Month, the President’s Message from Raymond Stainback, MD, FASE, explores how ASE is striving to improve heart health through research. The continuing education and meeting calendar outlines a multitude of learning options near and far.