The correlation between the mouth diameter of left atrial appendage and stroke risk score in patients with atrial fibrillation.

OBJECTIVE Our objective is to explore the correlation between the mouth diameter of left atrial appendage (LAA) and stroke risk score in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), to find the effective ways to improve diagnosis and treatment level. PATIENTS AND METHODS 112 patients with AF during January 2011-April 2013 were retrospectively analyzed, including 79 cases with paroxysmal AF and 32 cases with persistent AF or long-standing persistent AF (LS-AF). Radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) and transesophageal echocardiography were used to detect the maximum mouth diameter of LAA, the correlation of which with stroke risk score was analyzed. RESULTS In the patients with paroxysmal AF, the mouth diameter of LAA was 18.63 ± 4.14 mm, CHADS2 score was 0.91 ± 0.90 points and CHA2DS2-VASc score was 1.89 ± 1.36 points while in the patients with persistent AF or LS-AF, the mouth diameter of LAA was 20.68 ± 5.49 mm, CHADS2 score was 0.85 ± 0.84 points and CHA2DS2-VASc score was 1.67 ± 1.41 points. The mouth diameters of LAA, CHADS2 score and CHA2DS2-VASc score were statistically different between these two types of AF (p < 0.05). Moreover, the mouth diameter of LAA, CHADS2 score and CHA2DS2-VASc were not statistically correlated with paroxysmal AF or persistent AF (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Different types of AF are correlated with the mouth diameter of LAA, however, the mouth diameter of LAA is not correlated with stroke risk score.