Does left atrial appendage dysfunction predict recurrent atrial fibrillation post radiofrequency ablation? And, if so, why?

Hao et al analyzed echocardiographic data from 80 patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) who underwent radiofrequency ablation. Comparing the 21% of the patients who developed recurrent AF to those who did not, they found that left atrial appendage (LAA) emptying velocities (eV) of <34.5 cm/s and LAA strain (LAAS) < 11.6% were independent predictors of recurrent AF; indeed, combining these 2 values predicted AF recurrence with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.978, sensitivity of 94.1% and specificity of 93.7%. Left atrial measurements differed significantly between those with and without recurrent AF but did not independently affect the recurrence of AF. Is there something unique about the LAA that provides an insight into the cause and recurrence of AF beyond the left atrium (LA) per se?