Objective An enlarged left atrium (LA) has recently been identified as a risk factor for adverse cardiovascular outcomes in various pathologic conditions. However, few studies have evaluated its prognostic value in hemodialysis (HD) patients.
Methods We conducted an observational study to investigate whether an enlarged LA predicted all-cause mortality in 174 HD patients. Patients were stratified into two groups based on the LA volume index (LAVI) value of 32 mL/m².
Results An increased left atrial volume index (LAVI >32 mL/m²) was present in 28 (16.1%) of the HD patients. During the follow-up period (50.1±22.4 months), 77 patients (44.3%) died. A Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that the 7-year survival rate was significantly lower in the group whose LAVI was >32 mL/m² than in the group whose LAVI was ≤32 mL/m² (p=0.0033). Multivariate analyses adjusted for echocardiographic parameters and clinical and laboratory data showed that increased LAVI was an independent predictor of all-cause mortality (hazard ratio 1.030, 95% confidence interval 1.004-1.056, p=0.0260). Moreover, increased LAVI had a higher predictive value for all-cause mortality (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve=0.612, p=0.0059) among the measured echocardiographic parameters.
Conclusion The results of the present study suggested that measurement of LAVI may be helpful in the risk stratification of HD patients and in providing therapeutic direction for their management.