An acute increase in left atrial volume and left ventricular filling pressure during adenosine administered myocardial hyperaemia: CMR first-pass perfusion study

Objective. To investigate whether left atrial (LA) volume and left ventricular filling pressure (LVFP) assessed by cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) change during adenosine delivered myocardial hyperaemia as part of a first-pass stress perfusion study.
Methods and results. We enrolled 33 patients who had stress CMR. These patients had a baseline four-chamber cine and stress four-chamber cine, which was done at peak myocardial hyperaemic state after administering adenosine. The left and right atria were segmented in the end ventricular diastolic and systolic phases. Short-axis cine stack was segmented for ventricular functional assessment. At peak hyperaemic state, left atrial end ventricular systolic volume just before mitral valve opening increased significantly from baseline in all (91±35ml vs 81±33ml, P=0.0002), in males only (99±35ml vs 88±33ml, P=0.002) and females only (70±26ml vs 62±22ml, P=0.02). The right atrial end ventricular systolic volume increased less significantly from baseline (68±21ml vs 63±20ml, P=0.0448). CMR-derived LVFP (equivalent to pulmonary capillary wedge pressure) increased significantly at the peak hyperaemic state in all (15.1±2.9mmHg vs 14.4±2.8mmHg, P=0.0002), females only (12.9±2.1mmHg vs 12.3±1.9mmHg, P=0.029) and males only (15.9±2.8mmHg vs 15.2±2.7mmHg, P=0.002) cohorts.
Conclusion. Left atrial volume assessment by CMR can measure acute and dynamic changes in preloading conditions on the left ventricle. During adenosine administered first-pass perfusion CMR, left atrial volume and LVFP rise significantly.