Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine (Apr 2023)

Association of myocardial iron deficiency based on T2* CMR with the risk of mild left ventricular dysfunction in HIV-1-infected patients

  • Chengxi Yan,
  • Ruili Li,
  • Ruili Li,
  • Jiannan Zhang,
  • Li Zhang,
  • Minglei Yang,
  • Qiujuan Zhang,
  • Hongjun Li

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fcvm.2023.1132893
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 10

Abstract

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ObjectivesThis study sought to noninvasively determine myocardial iron levels in HIV-1-infected patients using CMR and explore the association between T2* values and mild left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD).MethodsThis prospective study was conducted from June 2019 to July 2021. HIV-1-infected adults and healthy controls were consecutively enrolled for CMR exam. CMR exam included the assessment of myocardium iron content (T2*), cardiac function (cine), inflammation (T2), and fibrosis (through extracellular volume fraction [ECV] and late gadolinium enhancement [LGE]) measurements. Mild LVSD is defined as a left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) between 40% and 49%.ResultsOf 47 HIV-1-infected patients enrolled, 12 were diagnosed with mild LVSD (HIV-1+/LEVF+) and 35 were diagnosed with preserved LV function (HIV-1+/LEVF−). Compared with healthy controls, HIV-1-infected patients displayed higher T2*, T1, T2, ECV values and lower global circumferential strain (GCS) and global radial strain (GRS) (all P < 0.05). However, between patients with and without mild LVSD, only the T2* values and ECV (all P <0.05) were different. The association between increased T2* values (>26 ms) and mild LVSD remained significant after adjusting for the established univariate predictors (ECV >32.9%, T1 values >1336 ms) of mild LVSD (odds ratio [OR], 10.153; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.565–65.878, P = 0.015).ConclusionsMyocardial T2* values were elevated in HIV-1-infected patients, supporting the notion that ID was associated with mild LVSD. Our findings highlight the potential for ID in HIV-1-infected patients as an auxiliary biomarker to monitor the course of LVSD.

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