Two-dimensional echocardiographic measurements of the left atrium in dogs with cardiac disease.

The aim of the present study was to verify the validity of two-dimensional echocardiographic (2DE) measurement technique in dogs with left atrial enlargement. Thirty-one dogs with clinically and echocardiographically proven cardiac diseases were randomly selected. The left atrial right-to-left diameter (La(r-l)) and the diameter of the left atrium just above the mitral annulus (La(ama)) as well as the ratio of left atrial to aortic diameter ( La/Ao ) were measured by 2DE.