scholarly journals Diagnostic Role of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Dilated Cardiomyopathy

Author(s):  
Nehal Singla ◽  
Shibani Mehra ◽  
Umesh C. Garga

Abstract Aims The purpose of the study was to compare the accuracy of cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) with echocardiography for the evaluation of ventricular dysfunction in patients of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Further, we evaluated the potential of CMR for myocardial tissue characterization. Design Prospective observational. Materials and Methods A total of 30 patients with suspected DCM prospectively underwent cardiac magnetic resonance (MR) using a 1.5 Tesla MR scanner, with appropriate phased-array body coils. Dynamic sequences after injection of 0.1 mmol/kg of body weight of gadolinium-based intravenous contrast (Magnevist) were acquired for each patient, after which delayed images were obtained at an interval of 12 to 15 minutes. Myocardial tagging was performed in all patients for assessment of wall motion abnormalities. Each MR examination was interpreted with two radiologists for chamber dimensions and ventricular dysfunction as well as morphologic characteristics with disagreement resolved by consensus. All patients included in the study were taken up for MR evaluation after cardiological evaluation through echocardiography and the results for both the studies were compared. Data were analyzed through standard statistical methods. Conclusion CMR is a comprehensive diagnostic tool, which can estimate the ventricular function more precisely than echocardiography. CMR reliably differentiates between ischemic and nonischemic etiologies of DCM based on patterns of late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) and based on the presence or absence of LGE, which helps to estimate the degree of myocardial fibrosis. Thereby it can be a useful tool in establishing risk stratification, predicting prognosis, and thus instituting appropriate therapy in DCM patients.

2012 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
pp. 726-733 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sairia Dass ◽  
Joseph J. Suttie ◽  
Stefan K. Piechnik ◽  
Vanessa M. Ferreira ◽  
Cameron J. Holloway ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (14) ◽  
pp. 7650
Author(s):  
Paolo Severino ◽  
Andrea D’Amato ◽  
Silvia Prosperi ◽  
Francesca Fanisio ◽  
Lucia Ilaria Birtolo ◽  
...  

Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is a complex clinical syndrome responsible for high mortality and morbidity rates. It has an ever growing social and economic impact and a deeper knowledge of molecular and pathophysiological basis is essential for the ideal management of HFpEF patients. The association between HFpEF and traditional cardiovascular risk factors is known. However, myocardial alterations, as well as pathophysiological mechanisms involved are not completely defined. Under the definition of HFpEF there is a wide spectrum of different myocardial structural alterations. Myocardial hypertrophy and fibrosis, coronary microvascular dysfunction, oxidative stress and inflammation are only some of the main pathological detectable processes. Furthermore, there is a lack of effective pharmacological targets to improve HFpEF patients’ outcomes and risk factors control is the primary and unique approach to treat those patients. Myocardial tissue characterization, through invasive and non-invasive techniques, such as endomyocardial biopsy and cardiac magnetic resonance respectively, may represent the starting point to understand the genetic, molecular and pathophysiological mechanisms underlying this complex syndrome. The correlation between histopathological findings and imaging aspects may be the future challenge for the earlier and large-scale HFpEF diagnosis, in order to plan a specific and effective treatment able to modify the disease’s natural course.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
EC D"angelo ◽  
P Paolisso ◽  
L Bergamaschi ◽  
A Foa ◽  
I Magnani ◽  
...  

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: Public hospital(s). Main funding source(s): S. Orsola Hospital Background  Differential diagnosis of cardiac masses represents a challenging issue with important implications for therapeutic management and patient’s prognosis. Cardiac Magnetic Resonance (CMR) is a non-invasive imaging technique used to characterize morphologic and functional features of masses. Integration of these information can lead an accurate diagnosis. Purpose  To evaluate the diagnostic role of CMR in defining the nature of cardiac masses. Methods : Ninety-three patients with cardiac masses evaluated with CMR were enrolled. All masses had histological certainty. CMR sequences allowed a qualitative morphologic description as well as tissue characterization. Evaluation of masses morphology included localization, size and borders assessment, detection of potential multiple lesions and pericardial effusion. Tissue characterization resulted from an estimation of contrast enhancement - early gadolinium enhancement (EGE) and late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) sequences - and tissue homogeneity in T1 and T2 weighted acquisitions. The descriptive analysis was carried out by comparing benign vs malignant lesions as well as dividing patients into 4 subgroups: primitive benign tumours, primitive malignant tumours, metastatic tumours and pseudotumours.  Results  The descriptive analysis of the morphologic features showed that diameter > 50mm, invasion of surrounding planes, irregular margins and presence of pericardial effusion were able to predict malignancy (p < 0.001). As for tissue characteristics, heterogeneous signal intensity - independently from T1 and T2 weighted acquisitions - and EGE were more common in malignant lesions (p <0.001). When analysing the four subgroups, CMR features did not discriminate between primitive malignant masses and metastasis. Conversely, hyperintensity signal and EGE were able to distinguish benign primitive lesions from pseudotumors (p = 0.002).  Furthermore, using classification and regression tree (CART) analysis, we developed an algorithm to differentiate masses: invasion of surrounding planes was a common characteristic of malignancy and identifies itself malignant tumors. In the absence of invasive features, gadolinium enhancement was evaluated: the lack of contrast uptake was able to exclude a pseudotumor diagnosis and reduced the probability of a primary benign tumor.  Conclusions Cardiac magnetic resonance is a very powerful diagnostic tool for differential diagnosis of cardiac masses as it correctly addresses malignancy. Furthermore, an accurate evaluation of the several CMR features, may discriminate primary benign masses and pseudotumours. Abstract Figure. Benign and malignant cardiac masses


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