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Updated: Apr 16, 2026

Cardiac Magnetic Resonance for the Evaluation of Suspected Cardiac Thrombus: Conventional and Emerging Techniques
Published on: June 11, 2019
Low-intensity late gadolinium enhancement predominates in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
David M Naeger1, Charles Higgins1, Teresa De Marco2
1Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, 505 Parnassus Ave., M-391, San Francisco, CA 94143-0628.
Insights
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) shows predominantly low-intensity late gadolinium enhancement (LGE). This suggests that a lower threshold for detecting LGE may be more appropriate for diagnosing HCM.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Medical Imaging
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a genetic heart muscle disease.
- Late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) on cardiac MRI is used to assess myocardial scarring.
- The intensity of LGE may vary depending on the underlying pathology.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the distribution of low- versus high-intensity LGE in patients with HCM.
- To compare LGE patterns in HCM with those in myocardial infarction (MI).
Main Methods:
- Cardiac MRI was used to quantify low- and high-intensity LGE volumes.
- Indexed LGE volumes were compared between 19 HCM patients and 23 MI patients.
Main Results:
- Total LGE volume did not significantly differ between HCM and MI groups (P=.13).
- Low-intensity LGE was significantly more prevalent in HCM (67%) compared to MI (26%) (P<.001).
- High-intensity LGE was significantly more prevalent in MI compared to HCM (P=.004).
Conclusions:
- Late gadolinium enhancement in HCM is predominantly characterized by low-intensity signals.
- A lower threshold for LGE detection may be more suitable for identifying myocardial involvement in HCM.
Aim:
Assess the extent of low- versus high-intensity late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM).
Methods:
Low- versus high-intensity LGE indexed volumes in 19 HCM patients were compared to 23 myocardial infarction (MI) patients.
Results:
Total, low-, and high-intensity LGE volumes in HCM vs. MI were 7.6ml/m(2), 4.7, and 2.4 vs. 11.2, 2.5, and 7.1, respectively. Total LGE volume did not differ (P=.13), though low- and high-intensity did (P=.05, .004). 67% versus 26% of all LGE was low-intensity in HCM versus MI (P<.001).
Conclusions:
LGE in HCM is predominantly low-intensity, so a low threshold may be the most appropriate.
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