Is increased myocardial triglyceride content associated with early changes in left ventricular function? A ¹H-MRS and...

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Metabolic Diseases
• Cardiovascular Imaging

Background:

• Type 2 diabetes (T2D) and obesity are known to cause left ventricular (LV) dysfunction.
• The precise pathophysiological mechanisms linking T2D and obesity to LV dysfunction are not fully understood.
• Myocardial triglyceride content (MTGC) is a potential contributing factor to this dysfunction.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify clinical and biological factors associated with elevated MTGC.
• To determine if MTGC is linked to early-stage alterations in LV function.

Main Methods:

• A retrospective analysis of five prospective cohorts involving 338 participants (208 healthy, 130 with T2D and/or obesity).
• Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) was used to quantify MTGC.
• Feature tracking cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) assessed myocardial strain and LV function.

Main Results:

• MTGC correlated with age, BMI, waist circumference, T2D, obesity, hypertension, and dyslipidemia.
• Body mass index (BMI) was the sole independent predictor of MTGC in multivariate analysis (R²=0.20).
• MTGC showed correlations with LV diastolic and systolic dysfunction, and was independently associated with LV volumes and mass.

Conclusions:

• Predicting MTGC in clinical practice is challenging, with BMI being the only independent correlate.
• MTGC may contribute to the development of LV dysfunction.
• MTGC does not appear to be involved in the progression of subclinical myocardial strain abnormalities.