Prognostic value of echocardiographic indices of left atrial morphology and function in dogs with myxomatous mitral valve disease

BACKGROUND: The prognostic relevance of left atrial (LA) morphological and functional variables, including those derived from speckle tracking echocardiography (STE), has been little investigated in veterinary medicine. OBJECTIVES: To assess the prognostic value of several echocardiographic variables, with a focus on LA morphological and functional variables in dogs with myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD). ANIMALS: One‐hundred and fifteen dogs of different breeds with MMVD. METHODS: Prospective cohort study. Conventional morphologic and echo‐Doppler variables, LA areas and volumes, and STE‐based LA strain analysis were performed in all dogs. A survival analysis was performed to test for the best echocardiographic predictors of cardiac‐related death. RESULTS: Most of the tested variables, including all LA STE‐derived variables were univariate predictors of cardiac death in Cox proportional hazard analysis. Because of strong correlation between many variables, only left atrium to aorta ratio (LA/Ao > 1.7), mitral valve E wave velocity (MV E vel > 1.3 m/s), LA maximal volume (LAVmax > 3.53 mL/kg), peak atrial longitudinal strain (PALS < 30%), and contraction strain index (CSI per 1% increase) were entered in the univariate analysis, and all were predictors of cardiac death. However, only the MV E vel (hazard ratio [HR], 4.45; confidence interval [CI], 1.76‐11.24; P < .001) and LAVmax (HR, 2.32; CI, 1.10‐4.89; P = .024) remained statistically significant in the multivariable analysis. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: The assessment of LA dimension and function provides useful prognostic information in dogs with MMVD. Considering all the LA variables, LAVmax appears the strongest predictor of cardiac death, being superior to LA/Ao and STE‐derived variables.