Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 11, 2026

In Vivo Quantitative Assessment of Myocardial Structure, Function, Perfusion and Viability Using Cardiac Micro-computed Tomography
08:13

In Vivo Quantitative Assessment of Myocardial Structure, Function, Perfusion and Viability Using Cardiac Micro-computed Tomography

Published on: February 16, 2016

Contrast-enhanced cardiovascular magnetic resonance in primary and ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy

Chiara Calore1, Luisa Cacciavillani, Giovanni Maria Boffa

  • 1Department of Cardiac, Thoracic and Vascular Sciences of the University of Padua, Padua, Italy. chiara.calore@unipd.it

Journal of Cardiovascular Medicine (Hagerstown, Md.)
|September 22, 2007
PubMed

Insights

Contrast-enhanced cardiovascular magnetic resonance effectively differentiates dilated cardiomyopathy from ischemic cardiomyopathy. Delayed enhancement patterns reveal myocardial scarring, aiding diagnosis with high accuracy.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Medical Imaging
  • Diagnostic Techniques

Background:

  • Differentiating primary dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) from ischemic cardiomyopathy (ICM) is clinically crucial.
  • Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) with contrast enhancement can identify myocardial scarring via delayed gadolinium enhancement (LGE).

Purpose of the Study:

  • To assess the diagnostic utility of contrast-enhanced CMR in distinguishing between DCM and ICM.
  • To evaluate the patterns of LGE in patients with DCM and ICM.

Main Methods:

  • Contrast-enhanced CMR was performed on 100 patients with left ventricular dilatation and reduced ejection fraction.
  • Patients were categorized into DCM (normal coronaries, n=24) and ICM (significant coronary artery disease, n=76) groups.

Main Results:

  • In DCM, 29% showed mid-wall, patchy, or diffuse LGE.
  • In ICM with prior infarction (n=54), all showed subendocardial or transmural LGE.
  • In ICM without prior infarction (n=22), 59% exhibited subendocardial or transmural LGE.

Conclusions:

  • LGE patterns differ significantly between DCM and ICM, reflecting underlying myocardial pathology.
  • Contrast-enhanced CMR distinguished DCM from ICM with 88% sensitivity and 100% specificity.
  • Integrating CMR findings with angiography aids in understanding the etiology of left ventricular dysfunction.
Abstract

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