Atrial aspiration from pulmonary and caval veins is caused by ventricular contraction and secures 70% of the total stroke volume independent of resting heart rate and heart size.
Whereas ventricular filling has been extensively studied and debated, atrial filling is less well characterized. Therefore, the aim of this study was to quantify atrial filling secured during ventricular diastole and systole, and to investigate whether atrial filling depends on heart rate (HR) and total heart volume (THV).
