Cardiac Research
Hi Everyone,
No live sessions planned this month with everyone busy with training applications, but we thought it would be interesting to share a summary of a recent article along with a link for our community to explore:
🔗 Full Paper: Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Identifies Raised Left Ventricular Filling Pressure: Prognostic Implications
Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Identifies Raised Left Ventricular Filling Pressure: Prognostic Implications
Authors: Pankaj Garg et al.
Published in: European Heart Journal (2022)
🔍 Background
- Left ventricular filling pressure (LVFP) is a key diagnostic marker for heart failure (HF).
- Right heart catheterization (RHC) is the gold standard but invasive.
- Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) is commonly used but has accuracy limitations.
- Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) offers precise imaging but has not been validated for LVFP estimation.
📝 Study Design
- Participants: 835 patients with suspected HF.
- Methods: Each underwent RHC, CMR, and TTE (in the validation cohort) within 24 hours.
- Primary Aim: Develop and validate a CMR model to estimate LVFP and assess its prognostic value.
- Primary Endpoint: Mortality.
📊 Key Findings
- Strong correlation between CMR-derived and RHC-measured LVFP (r = 0.55, p < 0.0001).
- CMR outperformed TTE in classifying normal vs. raised filling pressures (76% vs. 25% accuracy).
- Raised CMR-derived LVFP was linked to increased mortality (HR 1.77, p = 0.001).
- Kaplan–Meier survival analysis showed CMR-derived LVFP was comparable to RHC-derived LVFP in predicting 7-year survival.
📌 Conclusion
- CMR provides a non-invasive, reliable estimate of LVFP.
- CMR-derived LVFP has prognostic value, improving risk stratification and guiding HF management.
- Could reduce reliance on invasive RHC, making HF diagnosis and monitoring more accessible.
This study highlights the growing role of CMR in heart failure assessment, an area of increasing relevance for radiology and cardiovascular imaging.
Let us know your thoughts. Looking forward to hearing your insights!