Is mitral annular ascent useful in studying left ventricular function through left atrio-ventricular interactions?

Background: The mitral annulus (MA) is a crucial structure that is in constant motion throughout the cardiac cycle. The main purpose of this study was to determine if M-mode evaluation of the longitudinal motion of the MA could be useful to examine atrio-ventricular interactions.

Methods: Echocardiographic data obtained from 150 patients (mean age 56 ± 16; 82 males) from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine was evaluated to examine if any relationship exists between MA motion and measures of atrio-ventricular interactions.