Left atrial appendage in acute coronary syndromes: small but not insignificant

In this issue of Journal of Geriatric Cardiology, Dr. Piotrowski and colleagues explored the function of the left atrial appendage (LA A)—a small, blind-ended structure of the heart which has been often ignored by cardiologists.1 Although the function and relationship between LAA and left ventricle (LV) in healthy and abnormal conditions, for instance, in atrial fibrillation or myocardial infarction, have been studied for years by physiologists and clinicians.2 Nevertheless, just like what had the authors pointed out that in ischemic heart disease, ventricles rather than atria have received far more attention for many years; therefore much less is known about the func-tion of LAA, especially in acute coronary syndromes.