Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsWhat It IsCausesSymptomsComplicationsDiagnosisTreatmentPreventionPrognosis
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
What It Is
Causes
Symptoms
Complications
Diagnosis
Treatment
Prevention
Prognosis
Some people with LAE experience symptoms like chest pain, fatigue, and breathing problems, while others have no symptoms at all. Left atrial enlargement is not a cause for worry in itself, but it is a sign that you may have a serious cardiovascular condition. LAE may resolve once the underlying cause is diagnosed and treated.
This article explains the causes and symptoms of left atrial enlargement, how it’s diagnosed, and how you can treat issues that might have led to the condition. It also covers prevention tips and the prognosis of this condition.
The left and right atrium of the heart.
What Is Left Atrial Enlargement?
The exact prevalence of left atrial enlargement is not known, but it’s believed to be common. A Chinese study with around 12,000 subjects over the age of 35 found that about 6.4% of them had the condition. The incidence of LAE increases with age. People who are female, overweight, older, or have high blood pressure or diabetes are at greater risk for left atrial enlargement.
Science Picture Co / Getty Images
Who Does Left Atrial Enlargement Affect?
Health conditions most commonly associated with left atrial enlargement include high blood pressure,atrial fibrillation, mitral valve dysfunction, and left ventricle problems. These conditions can produce elevated left atrial pressures, elevated left atrial volume, or both—leading to LAE.
High Blood Pressure
High blood pressureis common in people with left atrial enlargement. One review in theAmerican Journal of Hypertensionof 15 studies over 12 years found that LAE was present in 16% to 83% of people with high blood pressure.In people with high blood pressure, LAE is often related toasymptomatic diastolic dysfunction.
Atrial Fibrillation
Atrial fibrillation (AFib) is a problem that causes arrhythmia, or irregular heartbeats. This causes the two upper chambers of the heart to beat differently than the two lower chambers. Persistent AFib may eventually enlarge the left atrium.
AFib can either be permanent (not going away), persistent (lasting for more than a week), orparoxysmal(usually lasting less than a day), and newer research confirms that LAE is both a cause and a complication of AFib.
A study in Norway found that people with enlarged left atriums were 60% more likely to develop AFib, and those with a severely enlarged atrium were four times more likely to develop AFib than people with normal heart chambers.
The researchers confirm that an enlarged left atrium is an independent risk factor for AFib, much like strokes and heart failure.
Mitral Valve Dysfunction
Some conditions associated with the mitral valve may contribute to LAE. The mitral valve is the heart valve that lies between the left atrium and the left ventricle. Mitral stenosis causes the mitral valve to narrow and makes it harder for the left ventricle to be filled.
Mitral regurgitation, on the other hand, causes blood to leak from the left ventricle into the left atrium. Both conditions make it difficult for the left atrium to pump blood to the left ventricle, resulting in increased pressure in the left atrium—and this eventually causes enlargement.
The connection between mitral valve problems and LAE is common. One 2013 study found that in people with mitral valve disease and LAE without symptoms, mitral valve replacement can decrease the size of the left atrium and help prevent symptoms due to LAE.
Left Ventricle Problems
Problems with the left ventricle put pressure on the left atrium, leading to the enlargement of the left atrium. Left ventricle and left atrium problems seem to go hand-in-hand.
For example, one 2019 study reported in theJournal of Hypertensionfinds that people withleft ventricular hypertrophy (LVH)have highersystolic blood pressures(SBPs) and larger left atriums.
LVH is a condition where the muscle wall of the heart left chamber, the ventricle, becomes thickened. The SBP is the number on top in a blood pressure reading that indicates the amount of pressure that blood exerts on the vessels while the heart is beating.
Left Atrial Enlargement Symptoms
Sometimes, left atrial enlargement does not cause any symptoms. The occurrence of symptoms depends on the extent of the enlargement in the left atrium. If the increase in size is substantial, you’re likely to have symptoms. These may include:
The symptoms above are also characteristic of numerous conditions affecting the heart, includingcongestive heart failure.
LAE usually occurs as a result of underlying cardiovascular conditions and is often discovered when testing is done to look for these underlying conditions.
Complications of Left Atrial Enlargement
Left atrial enlargement can lead to dangerous complications. The most common include:
The test is performed with the person lying down on a table and the technician attaching metal electrodes to the person’s chest. The technician will then pass a small sound wave probe over the chest.
These sound waves bounce off the heart and echo back to the probe, producing images. The echocardiogram is a safe procedure that causes no pain or harm and has no side effects.
Other tests that may be used to diagnose LAE include magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) scans. These tests make measures of the left atrium to determine its size and if it is enlarged compared to its normal size.
Treatment of left atrial enlargement focuses on identifying and treating the cause of it:
What Is Right Atrial Enlargement?
Preventing Left Atrial Enlargement
Keeping your heart healthy helps prevent heart disease like LAE. Protecting your heart means making these heart-healthy lifestyle choices:
Prognosis for Left Atrial Enlargement
LAE itself isn’t necessarily a serious problem, but it could indicate one. LAE could be an early sign of the following conditions:
Talk to your healthcare provider about your risks and your best strategies for managing them.
Summary
LAE can also put people at risk for additional heart problems, so it’s important to keep blood pressure and heart rhythms under control. If you have a family history of heart problems, tell your healthcare provider so your heart health can be monitored closely.
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14 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
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