scholarly journals Prevalence and pattern of cardiovascular magnetic resonance late gadolinium enhancement in highly trained endurance athletes

Author(s):  
B. Domenech-Ximenos ◽  
M. Sanz-de la Garza ◽  
S. Prat-González ◽  
A. Sepúlveda-Martínez ◽  
F. Crispi ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Intensive endurance exercise may induce a broad spectrum of right ventricular (RV) adaptation/remodelling patterns. Late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) has also been described in cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) of some endurance athletes and its clinical meaning remains controversial. Our aim was to characterize the features of contrast CMR and the observed patterns of the LGE distribution in a cohort of highly trained endurance athletes. Methods Ninety-three highly trained endurance athletes (> 12 h training/week at least during the last 5 years; 36 ± 6 years old; 53% male) and 72 age and gender-matched controls underwent a resting contrast CMR. In a subgroup of 28 athletes, T1 mapping was also performed. Results High endurance training load was associated with larger bi-ventricular and bi-atrial sizes and a slight reduction of biventricular ejection fraction, as compared to controls in both genders (p < 0.05). Focal LGE was significantly more prevalent in athletes than in healthy subjects (37.6% vs 2.8%; p < 0.001), with a typical pattern in the RV insertion points. In T1 mapping, those athletes who had focal LGE had higher extracellular volume (ECV) at the remote myocardium than those without (27 ± 2.2% vs 25.2 ± 2.1%; p < 0.05). Conclusions Highly trained endurance athletes showed a ten-fold increase in the prevalence of focal LGE as compared to control subjects, always confined to the hinge points. Additionally, those athletes with focal LGE demonstrated globally higher myocardial ECV values. This matrix remodelling and potential presence of myocardial fibrosis may be another feature of the athlete’s heart, of which the clinical and prognostic significance remains to be determined.

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sorin Giusca ◽  
Henning Steen ◽  
Moritz Montenbruck ◽  
Amit R. Patel ◽  
Burkert Pieske ◽  
...  

Abstract Aim To evaluate the ability of single heartbeat fast-strain encoded (SENC) cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) derived myocardial strain to discriminate between different forms of left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy (LVH). Methods 314 patients (228 with hypertensive heart disease (HHD), 45 with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), 41 with amyloidosis, 22 competitive athletes, and 33 healthy controls) were systematically analysed. LV ejection fraction (LVEF), LV mass index and interventricular septal (IVS) thickness, T1 mapping and atypical late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) were assessed. In addition, the percentage of LV myocardial segments with strain ≤ − 17% (%normal myocardium) was determined. Results Patients with amyloidosis and HCM exhibited the highest IVS thickness (17.4 ± 3.3 mm and 17.4 ± 6 mm, respectively, p < 0.05 vs. all other groups), whereas patients with amyloidosis showed the highest LV mass index (95.1 ± 20.1 g/m2, p < 0.05 vs all others) and lower LVEF compared to controls (50.5 ± 9.8% vs 59.2 ± 5.5%, p < 0.05). Analysing subjects with mild to moderate hypertrophy (IVS 11–15 mm), %normal myocardium exhibited excellent and high precision, respectively for the differentiation between athletes vs. HCM (sensitivity and specificity = 100%, Area under the curve; AUC%normalmyocardium = 1.0, 95%CI = 0.85–1.0) and athletes vs. HHD (sensitivity = 83%, specificity = 75%, AUC%normalmyocardium = 0.85, 95%CI = 0.78–0.90). Combining %normal myocardial strain with atypical LGE provided high accuracy also for the differentiation of HHD vs. HCM (sensitivity = 82%, specificity = 100%, AUCcombination = 0.92, 95%CI = 0.88–0.95) and HCM vs. amyloidosis (sensitivity = 83%, specificity = 100%, AUCcombination = 0.83, 95%CI = 0.60–0.96). Conclusion Fast-SENC derived myocardial strain is a valuable tool for differentiating between athletes vs. HCM and athletes vs. HHD. Combining strain and LGE data is useful for differentiating between HHD vs. HCM and HCM vs. cardiac amyloidosis.


2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Angel T. Chan ◽  
William Dinsfriend ◽  
Jiwon Kim ◽  
Brian Yum ◽  
Razia Sultana ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) is widely used to identify cardiac neoplasms, for which diagnosis is predicated on enhancement stemming from lesion vascularity: Impact of contrast-enhancement pattern on clinical outcomes is unknown. The objective of this study was to determine whether cardiac metastasis (CMET) enhancement pattern on LGE-CMR impacts prognosis, with focus on heterogeneous lesion enhancement as a marker of tumor avascularity. Methods Advanced (stage IV) systemic cancer patients with and without CMET matched (1:1) by cancer etiology underwent a standardized CMR protocol. CMET was identified via established LGE-CMR criteria based on lesion enhancement; enhancement pattern was further classified as heterogeneous (enhancing and non-enhancing components) or diffuse and assessed via quantitative (contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR); signal-to-noise ratio (SNR)) analyses. Embolic events and mortality were tested in relation to lesion location and contrast-enhancement pattern. Results 224 patients were studied, including 112 patients with CMET and unaffected (CMET -) controls matched for systemic cancer etiology/stage. CMET enhancement pattern varied (53% heterogeneous, 47% diffuse). Quantitative analyses were consistent with lesion classification; CNR was higher and SNR lower in heterogeneously enhancing CMET (p < 0.001)—paralleled by larger size based on linear dimensions (p < 0.05). Contrast-enhancement pattern did not vary based on lesion location (p = NS). Embolic events were similar between patients with diffuse and heterogeneous lesions (p = NS) but varied by location: Patients with right-sided lesions had threefold more pulmonary emboli (20% vs. 6%, p = 0.02); those with left-sided lesions had lower rates equivalent to controls (4% vs. 5%, p = 1.00). Mortality was higher among patients with CMET (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.64 [CI 1.17–2.29], p = 0.004) compared to controls, but varied by contrast-enhancement pattern: Diffusely enhancing CMET had equivalent mortality to controls (p = 0.21) whereas prognosis was worse with heterogeneous CMET (p = 0.005) and more strongly predicted by heterogeneous enhancement (HR = 1.97 [CI 1.23–3.15], p = 0.005) than lesion size (HR = 1.11 per 10 cm [CI 0.53–2.33], p = 0.79). Conclusions Contrast-enhancement pattern and location of CMET on CMR impacts prognosis. Embolic events vary by CMET location, with likelihood of PE greatest with right-sided lesions. Heterogeneous enhancement—a marker of tumor avascularity on LGE-CMR—is a novel marker of increased mortality risk.


2021 ◽  
Vol 80 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 699.1-699
Author(s):  
A. Gil-Vila ◽  
G. Burcet ◽  
A. Anton-Vicente ◽  
D. Gonzalez-Sans ◽  
A. Nuñez-Conde ◽  
...  

Background:Antisynthetase syndrome (ASS) is characterized by inflammatory myopathy, interstitial lung disease, arthritis, mechanical hands and Raynaud phenomenon, among other features. Recent studies have shown that idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM) may develop cardiac involvement, either ischemic (coronary artery disease) or inflammatory (myocarditis). We wonder if characteristic lung interstitial involvement (interstitial lung disease) that appears in patients with the ASS may also affect the myocardial interstitial tissue. New magnetic resonance mapping techniques could detect subclinical myocardial involvement, mainly as edema (increase extracellular volume in interstitium and extracellular matrix), even in the absence of visible late Gadolinium enhancement (LGE).Objectives:Our aim was to describe the presence of interstitial myocarditis in a group of patients with ASS.Methods:Cross-sectional, observational study performed in a tertiary care center. We included 13 patients diagnosed with ASS (7 male, 53%, mean (SD) age at diagnosis 56,8 years (±11,8)). The patients were consecutively selected from our outpatient myositis clinic. Myositis specific and associated antibodies were performed by means of line immunoblot (EUROIMMUN©). Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) was performed on all patients. The study protocol includes functional cine magnetic resonance and standard late gadolinium enhancement (LGE), as well as novel parametric T1 and T2 mapping sequences (modified look locker inversion recovery sequences - MOLLI) with extracellular volume (ECV) calculation 20 minutes after the injection of a gadolinium-based contrast material.Results:CMR could not be performed in one patient due to anxiety. All patients studied (12) had a normal biventricular function, without alteration of segmental contraction. A third (4 out of 12, 33%) of the studied patients showed elevated T2 myocardial values without focal LGE, half of them (2/4) with an elevated ECV, consistent with myocardial edema. Two patients with normal T2 values showed unspecific LGE focal patterns, one in the right ventricle union points and another with mild interventricular septum enhancement (Figure 1). None of the patients studied refer any cardiac symptomatology. All the four patients with T2 mapping alterations (100%) had interstitial lung involvement, but only 4 out of 8 (50%) of the rest ASS patients without T2 mapping positivity. The autoimmune profile was as follows: 10 anti-Jo1/Ro52, 1 anti-EJ/Ro52, 2 anti-PL12.Conclusion:Myocarditis, although subclinical, appears to be a feature in ASS patients. T1 and T2 mapping sequences might be valuable to detect and monitor subclinical cardiac involvement in these patients. The possibility that the same etiopathogenic mechanism may be involved in the interstitial tissue in lung and myocardium is raised. More studies must be done in order to assert the prevalence of myocarditis in ASS.References:[1]Dieval C et al. Myocarditis in Patients With Antisynthetase Syndrome: Prevalence, Presentation, and Outcomes. Medicine (Baltimore). 2015 Jul;94(26):e798.[2]Myhr KA, Pecini R. Management of Myocarditis in Myositis: Diagnosis and Treatment. Curr Rheumatol Rep. 2020 Jul 22; 22:49.[3]Sharma K, Orbai AM, Desai D, Cingolani OH, Halushka MK, Christopher-Stine L, Mammen AL, Wu KC, Zakaria S. Brief report: antisynthetase syndrome-associated myocarditis. J Card Fail. 2014 Dec;20(12):939-45.Figure 1.Cardiac magnetic resonance images from ASS patients.Disclosure of Interests:None declared


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