Methods Patients

The left atrium plays a major role in car-diac physiology by collecting blood dur-ing systole and modulating left ventricu-lar filling during diastole.1 Left ventricular diastolic dysfunction or mitral valve disease may lead to left atrial pressure or volume over-load which, if chronically maintained, may result in left atrial remodeling and enlarge-ment.2 As a marker of left ventricular diastolic dysfunction3 or increased filling volumes, left atrial size may provide important prognostic information. In this regard, left atrial enlarge-ment has been related to higher risk of atrial fibrillation4–7 and cardiovascular events.8–13 Our aim was to assess the association of left atrial size with all-cause mortality and ischemic stroke in a large cohort of patients referred for echocardiography