Reduced left atrial contractile strain with speckle tracking analysis predicts abnormal plasma NTproBNP in an asymptomatic community population.

LA reservoir and contractile functions demonstrated by LA strain and SR were significantly impaired in the community-based population with increased plasma NTproBNP levels. LA contractile strain adds incremental information in predicting abnormal NTproBNP levels. As a single index, LASI showed similar diagnostic value with LAVI and E/E' in predicting abnormal NTproBNP.