Biventricular Tissue Tracking with Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance: Reference Values of Left- and Right-Ventricular...

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Medical Imaging
• Biophysics

Background:

• Cardiac strain analysis quantifies myocardial deformation.
• Feature tracking cardiac magnetic resonance (FT-CMR) enables non-invasive assessment of strain.
• Establishing reference values is crucial for interpreting cardiac strain in clinical practice.

Purpose of the Study:

• To derive reference values for left-ventricular (LV) and right-ventricular (RV) strain parameters in healthy subjects using FT-CMR.
• To investigate gender-specific differences in cardiac strain.
• To assess the relationship between strain parameters and other cardiac metrics.

Main Methods:

• A cohort of 100 healthy subjects underwent FT-CMR.
• Global and regional LV strain (circumferential, radial, longitudinal) and RV global longitudinal strain (GLS) were calculated.
• Statistical analyses explored associations with demographics and cardiac function, and assessed reproducibility.

Main Results:

• Reference values for LV and RV strain were established, with peak global LV circumferential strain at -16.7%, LV radial strain at 26.4% (SAX) and 31.1% (LAX), LV GLS at -17.7%, and RV GLS at -23.9%.
• Women exhibited higher strain values than men.
• Strain measures showed significant associations with LV ejection fraction and RV end-diastolic volume, with good reproducibility.

Conclusions:

• Cardiac deformation assessment by FT-CMR is feasible and reproducible.
• Gender-specific reference values for cardiac strain parameters are necessary for accurate clinical interpretation.
• FT-CMR provides valuable insights into myocardial function.