Effects of age and gender on left atrial ejection force and volume from real-time three-dimensional echocardiography.

Introduction: This study was carried out to (i) provide the methodology for determining left atrial (LA) volume, emptying fraction and ejection force (LAEF), from real-time 3-dimensional echocardiography (RT3DE), and (ii) evaluate the effects of age and gender on LA volume and LAEF in a wide age range of healthy participants.

Materials And Methods: RT3DE was performed in 102 healthy participants (age range, 20 to 80 years). From full-volume data sets, LA endocardial borders were automatically traced and LA volumes were determined.