Left atrial enlargement causes

Overview
In the general population, obesity appears to be the most important risk factor for left atrial enlargement. Persistent atrial fibrillation results in retention of blood in the left atrium secondary to inadequate pumping of blood by the atrium into the left ventricle. Similar pathophysiologic process occurs in mitral stenosis resulting in subsequent left atrial enlargement. Aortic stenosis, mitral regurgitation, aortic insufficiency and other causes of left ventricular heart failure causes an increase in back pressure within the atrium resulting in subsequent left atrial enlargement.

In Alphabetical Order

 * Ankylosing spondylitis
 * Aortic regurgitation
 * Aortic stenosis
 * Atrial fibrillation
 * Atrial septal defect
 * Cardiac amyloidosis
 * Chronic alcoholism
 * Coarctation of the aorta
 * Congestive heart failure
 * Coronary artery disease
 * Emphysema
 * Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
 * Hypercholesterolemia accelerates the stenotic process of the valves via calcification
 * Hypoplasia of mitral valve annulus which is a part of the spectrum of hypoplastic left heart syndrome
 * Infective endocarditis
 * Ischemic mitral regurgitation
 * Left atrial myxoma
 * Left bundle branch block
 * Mitral regurgitation
 * Mitral stenosis
 * Mitral valve annular calcification
 * Mitral valve commissural fusion
 * Mitral valve prolapse
 * Obesity
 * Papillary muscle rupture
 * Parachute mitral valve
 * Pneumonia
 * Prosthetic mitral valve stenosis
 * Rheumatic heart disease
 * Supra-valve mitral membrane
 * Systemic hypertension
 * Thickened chordae tendinae
 * Thrombus (ball valve thrombus) in left atrium