Left ventricular chamber dimensions and wall thickness by cardiovascular magnetic resonance: comparison with...

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Medical Imaging
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) is a gold standard for assessing cardiomyopathies, accurately measuring cardiac volumes and mass.
• Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) is the routine first-line imaging technique for initial diagnosis and patient follow-up.
• Direct comparison of CMR-derived left ventricular (LV) measurements with TTE is crucial for clinical practice.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the correspondence between CMR and TTE measurements of LV chamber dimensions and wall thickness.
• To compare the agreement and reproducibility of different CMR views against TTE.
• To determine the optimal CMR approach for LV assessment in comparison to TTE.

Main Methods:

• 101 subjects underwent both TTE and CMR, categorized into normal, dilated LV cavity, and increased LV wall thickness groups.
• Standard TTE measurements were compared with CMR values from basal short-axis and 3-chamber (3-CH) views.
• Interstudy reproducibility of CMR measurements was assessed in a subset of subjects.

Main Results:

• A better agreement was observed between TTE and the CMR 3-chamber (3-CH) view for all measured dimensions across all patient groups.
• The 3-CH CMR view demonstrated superior intraobserver and interobserver agreement compared to other methods.
• Both CMR approaches exhibited sound interstudy reproducibility for all dimensions and patient groups.

Conclusions:

• CMR and TTE demonstrate good agreement in measuring LV dimensions and wall thickness.
• The CMR 3-chamber (3-CH) view is proposed as a superior method due to enhanced reproducibility and closer concordance with TTE.
• These findings support the integration of the 3-CH CMR view for more reliable LV assessment.