Left Atrial Geometry and Phasic Function Determined by Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Are Independent Predictors for Outcome in Non-Ischaemic Dilated Cardiomyopathy

Abstract

Left atrial (LA) geometry and phasic functions are frequently impaired in non-ischaemic dilated cardiomyopathy (NIDCM). Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) can accurately measure LA function and geometry parameters. We sought to investigate their prognostic role in patients with NIDCM. We prospectively examined 212 patients with NIDCM (49 ± 14.2-year-old; 73.5% males) and 106 healthy controls. LA volumes, phasic functions, geometry, and fibrosis were determined using CMR. A composite outcome (cardiac death, ventricular tachyarrhythmias, heart failure hospitalization) was ascertained over a median of 26 months. LA phasic functions, sphericity index (LASI) and late gadolinium enhancement (LA-LGE) were considerably impaired in the diseased group (p p t) and LA-LGE were associated with increased risk of composite outcome (p p 0.725 (p t p t (Chi-square = 10.2, p p t had a higher risk for an outcome. LA-εt, LASI and LA-LGE provided independent incremental predictive value for outcome.

Keywords

• non-ischaemic dilated cardiomyopathy
• cardiac magnetic resonance imaging
• left atrial phasic function
• left atrial volumes
• left atrial sphericity index
• left atrial strain