Keywords:
Cardiac, MR, Computer Applications-Detection, diagnosis, Tissue characterisation
Authors:
G. L. Chevreau1, H. Nivet2, M. Salel3, T. Ait Ali1, O. Corneloup1, V. Latrabe1, M. Montaudon1, F. Laurent1, H. Cochet1; 1Pessac/FR, 2Bordeaux/FR, 3Vigoulet-Auzil/FR
Purpose
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most frequent cardiac arrhythmia and a leading cause of heart failure and stroke (1).
Myocardial fibrosis of the atrial wall is a constant feature in AF patients at histology (2).
Besides AF,
atrial fibrosis is also related to mitral regurgitation,
ventricular dysfunction and ischemia. Delayed-enhanced (DE) MRI was shown to accurately depict focal areas of fibrosis in the ventricle (3).
Using free breathing DEMRI method,
authors have recently described a contrast in the atrial wall,
and reported an association between the extent of DE and the outcome in AF patients (4). However,
the determinants of atrial DE are still largely unknown as previous reports have focused only on AF patients.
In addition,
the distribution of DE throughout the left atrial wall has not been comprehensively reported.
We studied the extent and distribution of left atrial DE on MRI in a general cardiology population.