Taniguchi N, Miyasaka Y, Suwa Y, et al. - Whether left atrial (LA) volume affords a useful tool to predict heart failure (HF) development in patients with atrial fibrillation was investigated in this study including 562 patients, with 422 (mean age 69.6 ± 9.7 years, 66.1% men) who satisfied the study criteria. Those with significant valvular heart disease, congenital heart disease, or reduced left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction were removed from the study. The risk of HF development was evaluated using Cox-proportional hazards models. A mean follow-up of 55 ± 43 months revealed the development of HF in 52 (12.3%) patients. LA volume was identified as a significant predictor for HF development, independently of age, LV ejection fraction, and indexed LV mass, in a multivariable analysis adjusted for other comorbidities. In addition, LA volume offered an incremental impact to these traditional risk factors when it comes to predicting HF development.