Prognostic Utility of Left Atrial Strain From MRI Feature Tracking in Ischemic and Nonischemic Dilated Cardiomyopathy: A Multicenter Study.

BACKGROUND. MRI-based prognostic evaluation in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) has historically used markers of late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) and feature tracking (FT)-derived left ventricular global longitudinal strain (LVGLS). Early data indicate that FT-derived left atrial strain (LAS) parameters, including reservoir, conduit, and booster, may also have prognostic roles in such patients. OBJECTIVE. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the prognostic utility of LAS parameters, derived from MRI FT, in patients with ischemic or nonischemic DCM, including in comparison with the traditional parameters of LGE and LVGLS. METHODS. This retrospective study included 811 patients with ischemic or nonischemic DCM (median age, 60 years; 640 men, 171 women) who underwent cardiac MRI at any of five centers. FT-derived LAS parameters and LVGLS were measured using two- and four-chamber cine images. LGE percentage was quantified. Patients were assessed for a composite outcome of all-cause mortality or heart failure hospitalization. Multivariable Cox regression analyses including demographic characteristics, cardiovascular risk factors, medications used, and a wide range of cardiac MRI parameters were performed. Kaplan-Meier analyses with log-rank tests were also performed. RESULTS. A total of 419 patients experienced the composite outcome. Patients who did, versus those who did not, experience the composite outcome had larger LVGLS (-6.7% vs -8.3%, respectively; p < .001) as well as a smaller LAS reservoir (13.3% vs 19.3%, p < .001), LAS conduit (4.7% vs 8.0%, p < .001), and LAS booster (8.1% vs 10.3%, p < .001) but no significant difference in LGE (10.1% vs 11.3%, p = .51). In multivariable Cox regression analyses, significant independent predictors of the composite outcome included LAS reservoir (HR = 0.96, p < .001) and LAS conduit (HR = 0.91, p < .001). LAS booster and LGE were not significant independent predictors in the models. LVGLS was a significant independent predictor only in a model that initially included LAS booster but not the other LAS parameters. In Kaplan-Meier analysis, all three LAS parameters were significantly associated with the composite outcome (p < .001). CONCLUSION. In this multicenter study, LAS reservoir and LAS conduit were significant independent prognostic markers in patients with ischemic or nonischemic DCM, showing greater prognostic utility than the currently applied markers of LVGLS and LGE. CLINICAL IMPACT. FT-derived LAS analysis provides incremental prognostic information in patients with DCM.

Intraventricular 4D flow cardiovascular magnetic resonance for assessing patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction: a pilot study.

Diagnosing heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) remains challenging. Intraventricular four-dimensional flow (4D flow) phase-contrast cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) can assess different components of left ventricular (LV) flow including direct flow, delayed ejection, retained inflow and residual volume. This could be utilised to identify HFpEF. This study investigated if intraventricular 4D flow CMR could differentiate HFpEF patients from non-HFpEF and asymptomatic controls. Suspected HFpEF patients and asymptomatic controls were recruited prospectively. HFpEF patients were confirmed using European Society of Cardiology (ESC) 2021 expert recommendations. Non-HFpEF patients were diagnosed if suspected HFpEF patients did not fulfil ESC 2021 criteria. LV direct flow, delayed ejection, retained inflow and residual volume were obtained from 4D flow CMR images. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were plotted. 63 subjects (25 HFpEF patients, 22 non-HFpEF patients and 16 asymptomatic controls) were included in this study. 46% were male, mean age 69.8 ± 9.1 years. CMR 4D flow derived LV direct flow and residual volume could differentiate HFpEF vs combined group of non-HFpEF and asymptomatic controls (p < 0.001 for both) as well as HFpEF vs non-HFpEF patients (p = 0.021 and p = 0.005, respectively). Among the 4 parameters, direct flow had the largest area under curve (AUC) of 0.781 when comparing HFpEF vs combined group of non-HFpEF and asymptomatic controls, while residual volume had the largest AUC of 0.740 when comparing HFpEF and non-HFpEF patients. CMR 4D flow derived LV direct flow and residual volume show promise in differentiating HFpEF patients from non-HFpEF patients.

Prognostic value of perfusion cardiovascular magnetic resonance with adenosine triphosphate stress in stable coronary artery disease.

BACKGROUND: Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) has been predominantly used in the Asia-Pacific region for stress perfusion cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR). We evaluated the prognosis of patients stressed using ATP, for which there are no current data. METHODS: We performed a retrospective longitudinal study from January 2016 to December 2020 and included 208 subjects with suspected obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD) who underwent ATP stress perfusion CMR. An inducible stress perfusion defect was defined as a subendocardial dark rim involving ≥ 1.5 segments that persisted for ≥ 6 beats during stress but not at rest. The primary outcome measure was a composite of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) including (1) cardiac death, (2) nonfatal myocardial infarction, (3) cardiac hospitalization, (4) late coronary revascularization. We compared outcomes in patients with and without perfusion defect using Kaplan-Meier and log rank tests. Significant predictors of MACE were identified using multivariable Cox regression analysis. RESULTS: Median follow-up was 3.3 years. Patients with no stress perfusion defect had a lower incidence of MACE (p < 0.001), including lower cardiac hospitalization (p = 0.004), late coronary revascularization (p = 0.001) and cardiac death (p = 0.003). Significant independent predictors for MACE were stress induced perfusion defect (p < 0.001, hazard ratio [HR] = 3.63), lower left ventricular ejection fractino (LVEF) (p < 0.001, HR = 0.96) and infarct detected by late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) (p = 0.001, HR = 2.92). CONCLUSION: Perfusion defects on ATP stress are predictive of MACE which is driven primarily by cardiac hospitalization, late coronary revascularization and cardiac death. Significant independent predictors of MACE were stress induced perfusion defect, lower LVEF and infarct detected by LGE.

Mortality, Revascularization, and Cardioprotective Pharmacotherapy After Acute Coronary Syndrome in Patients With Psychotic Disorders: A Population-Based Cohort Study.

Ischemic heart disease is the leading cause of mortality in psychotic disorders. There is a paucity of research comprehensively evaluating short-term mortality, cardiovascular complications, and treatment inequality after cardiac events in patients with psychotic disorders. This population-based cohort study examined 30-day and 1-year all-cause mortality, cardiovascular complication rates, 30-day and 1-year receipt of invasive cardiac procedures, and 90-day post-discharge cardioprotective medication treatment following admission for first-recorded acute coronary syndrome (ACS) among patients with psychotic disorders (n = 703) compared with patients without psychotic disorders (n = 66 989) between January 2006 and December 2016 in Hong Kong (HK). Study data were retrieved from territory-wide medical record database of public healthcare services to 7.5 million HK residents. Multivariate regression analyses (ORs and 95% CIs), adjusting for demographics and medical comorbidities, were conducted to evaluate associations between psychotic disorders and post-ACS outcomes. Our results showed that patients with psychotic disorders had higher 30-day (OR: 1.99 [95% CI: 1.65-2.39]) and 1-year (2.13 [1.79-2.54]) mortality, and cardiovascular complication rates (1.20 [1.02-1.41]), lower receipt of cardiac catheterization (30-d: 0.54 [0.43-0.68]; 1-y: 0.46 [0.38-0.56]), percutaneous coronary intervention (30-d: 0.55 [0.44-0.70]; 1-y: 0.52 [0.42-0.63]) and reduced ß-blockers (0.81 [0.68-0.97]), statins (0.54 [0.44-0.66]), and clopidogrel prescriptions (0.66 [0.55-0.80]). Associations between psychotic disorder and increased mortality remained significant even after complications and treatment receipt were additionally adjusted. Our findings indicate that psychotic disorders are associated with increased risks of short-term post-ACS mortality, cardiovascular complications, and inferior treatment. Excess mortality is not substantially explained by treatment inequality. Further investigation is warranted to clarify factors for suboptimal cardiac-care and elevated mortality in psychotic disorders to enhance post-ACS outcome.