Implications of atrial volumes in surgical corrected Tetralogy of Fallot on clinical adverse events

Methods: 169 patients with repaired TOF were enrolled following a targeted protocol for Cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (CMR), Cardiopulmonary exercise tests (CPET), Echocardiography and Measurement of NT-proBNP. Clinical history was assessed at enrollment and during a median Follow-up of 23 months (IQR 9-40). The primary clinical endpoint was a composite of all cause mortality, aborted sudden cardiac death and sustained VT. Prespecified secondary surrogate endpoint included worsening heart failure (NYHA III-IV), non-sustained VT and sustained supraventricular tachycardia.

Background: While left atrial (LA) size has been shown as a strong predictor of cardiovascular diseases in various studies, the role of right atrial (RA) enlargement, especially in the growing population of patients with congenital heart diseases (CHD) is largely unknown. We sought to evaluate (1) RA and LA volumes in patients with repaired Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) and assess correlations to (2) functional parameters and (3) clinical adverse events.