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Estimating Bilateral Atrial Function by Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Feature Tracking in Patients with Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation
Published on: July 20, 2022
Left ventricular function and visual phase analysis with equilibrium radionuclide angiography in patients with
Africa Muxí1, Pilar Paredes, Lluis Mont
1Nuclear Medicine Department (Centre de Diagnóstic per la Imatge, CDI), Hospital Clínic, Universitat de Barcelona, Villarroel 170, 08036 Barcelona, Spain. amuxi@clinic.ub.es
European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
|January 30, 2008
Summary
Cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) improves heart function in heart failure patients. Equilibrium radionuclide angiography (ERNA) effectively assesses these improvements and predicts patient response to CRT.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Medical Imaging
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) is a key treatment for moderate to severe heart failure patients with ventricular dyssynchrony.
- Evaluating the efficacy of CRT, specifically changes in left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and synchronisation, is crucial for patient management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and synchronisation changes following biventricular pacing implant using equilibrium radionuclide angiography (ERNA).
- To determine if early ERNA findings can predict long-term response to CRT.
Main Methods:
- Equilibrium radionuclide angiography (ERNA) was performed on 50 heart failure patients at 72 hours and 6 months post-CRT implantation.
- ERNA scans were conducted with the CRT device both connected and disconnected to assess pacing-dependent effects.
- Responders were identified based on clinical improvement at 6 months; LVEF and synchronisation (phase analysis) were quantitatively and visually evaluated.
Main Results:
- At 6 months, 30 patients were classified as responders, showing a significant increase in LVEF compared to the 72-hour assessment.
- Early (72-hour) disconnection of the CRT device revealed that responders were more likely to exhibit decreased LVEF or synchronisation worsening.
- At 6 months, 57% of responders demonstrated no synchronisation changes between connected and disconnected CRT modes, indicating successful resynchronisation.
Conclusions:
- ERNA is a valuable tool for evaluating resynchronisation in CRT patients, demonstrating significant LVEF improvement at 6 months.
- Visual phase analysis using ERNA helps elucidate the mechanism of CRT response, with a notable proportion of responders showing stable synchronisation.
- Early assessment of LVEF and synchronisation changes upon device disconnection at 72 hours can predict 6-month patient improvement with CRT.
