Prognostic Implications of Mitral Annular Plane Systolic Excursion in Patients with Hypertension and a Clinical Indication for Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging: A Multicenter Study

ObjectivesThis study sought to evaluate the prognostic value of cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR)-derived mitral annular plane systolic excursion (MAPSE) in a large multicenter population of patients with hypertension.BackgroundIn patients with hypertension, cardiac abnormalities are powerful predictors of adverse outcomes. Long-axis mitral annular movement plays a fundamental role in cardiac mechanics and is an early marker for a number of pathological processes. Given the adverse consequences of cardiac involvement in hypertension, the authors hypothesized that lateral MAPSE may provide incremental prognostic information in these patients.MethodsConsecutive patients with hypertension and a clinical indication for CMR at 4 U.S. medical centers were included in this study (n = 1,735). Lateral MAPSE was measured in the 4-chamber cine view. The primary endpoint was all-cause death. Cox proportional hazards regression modeling was used to examine the association between lateral MAPSE and death. The incremental prognostic value of lateral MAPSE was assessed in nested models.ResultsOver a median follow-up period of 5.1 years, 235 patients died. By Kaplan-Meier analysis, risk of death was significantly higher in patients with a lateral MAPSE < median (10 mm) (log-rank; p < 0.0001). Lateral MAPSE was associated with risk of death after adjustment for clinical and imaging risk factors (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.402-per-millimeter decrease; p < 0.001). Addition of lateral MAPSE in this model resulted in significant improvement in the C-statistic (0.735 to 0.815; p < 0.0001). Continuous net reclassification improvement was 0.739 (95% confidence interval: 0.601 to 0.902). Lateral MAPSE remained significantly associated with death even after adjustment for feature tracking global longitudinal strain (HR: 1.192-per-millimeter decrease; p < 0.001). Lateral MAPSE was independently associated with death among the subgroups of patients with preserved ejection fraction (HR = 1.339; p < 0.001) and in those without history of myocardial infarction (HR: 1.390; p < 0.001).ConclusionsCMR-derived lateral MAPSE is a powerful, independent predictor of mortality in patients with hypertension and a clinical indication for CMR, incremental to common clinical and CMR risk factors. These findings may suggest a role for CMR-derived lateral MAPSE in identifying hypertensive patients at highest risk of death.     

Characterization and Management of Arrhythmic Events in Young Patients With Brugada Syndrome

Background

Information on young patients with Brugada syndrome (BrS) and arrhythmic events (AEs) is limited.

Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome: JACC Focus Seminar

Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), the most common form of orthostatic intolerance in young people, affects approximately 500,000 people in the United States alone, typically young women at the peak of their education and the beginning of their working lives. This is a heterogeneous disorder, the pathophysiology and mechanisms of which are not well understood. There are multiple contributing factors and numerous potential mimics. This review details the most current views on the potential causes, comorbid conditions, proposed subtypes, differential diagnoses, evaluations, and treatment of POTS from cardiological and neurological perspectives.     

The relationship between transmurality of ischemic scars and the heart rate of ventricular tachycardia

Abstract

Aims. The relationship between the heart rate of ventricular tachycardia (VT) and the transmurality of ischemic scars was assessed by a new semiautomatic coordinate-based analysis of late gadolinium-enhanced cardiac magnetic resonance (LGE-CMR) images. Methods and results. Twenty patients assessed by LGE-CMR before implantation of implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) with verified VT during the first year following ICD implantation were included. Scar was defined by pixels with a signal intensity ≥ 50% of maximum signal intensity. All pixels were assigned a coordinate position between endo- and epicardium (λ) and the angle of the heart axis (φ). Based upon the λ and φ values, multiple scar features were computed for all scarred areas. These features were correlated to VT heart rate across the complete range of transmurality. The strongest correlation with univariate regression was found between VT heart rate and the sum of transmurality when the maximum transmurality of these features was ≥ 90% (R-square = 0.47). In multiple regressions analysis, the strongest relationship with VT heart rate was found with a maximum transmurality ≥ 90% and by a combination of scar size, transmurality, and endocardial extent of infarction (R-square = 0.64). Conclusion. Transmurality is the strongest predictor of VT heart rate both in univariate and multivariate models. The strongest relationships were found at a transmurality level > 90%.