Non-contrast-enhanced T 1 Mapping of Dilated Cardiomyopathy: Comparison between Native T 1 Values and Late Gadolinium Enhancement

• Published in: Magnetic resonance in medical sciences Vol. 18; no. 1; p. 12
• Main Authors: Yanagisawa, Fumi, Amano, Yasuo, Tachi, Masaki, Inui, Keisuke, Asai, Kuniya, Kumita, Shinichiro
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japan 01.01.2019
• Subjects: late gadolinium enhancement; T1 mapping; dilated cardiomyopathy; myocardial fibrosis
• ISSN: 1880-2206
• DOI: 10.2463/mrms.mp.2017-0136

We sought to use non-contrast-enhanced T mapping to determine the native T values required to identify myocardial fibrosis in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). A total of 25 patients with DCM and 15 healthy controls were enrolled. All subjects underwent T mapping using modified look-locker inversion recovery, and the patients underwent late gadolinium-enhancement (LGE) imaging. Basal and mid-ventricular levels were divided into eight segments and the T value was measured in each segment. The T values of septal segments with LGE were compared with those of the septal segments without LGE, the minimum T value of each patient, and the T values of the normal septal myocardium. Late gadolinium-enhancement was present in 12 septal segments (24.0%) from 10 patients (40.0%). T values were significantly higher in septal segments with LGE than in those without (1373.7 vs. 1288.0 ms; P = 0.035) or in normal septal myocardium (1209.1 ms; P < 0.01). A receiver operating characteristic analysis revealed the appropriate cutoff value of 1349.4 ms for identifying LGE with a sensitivity of 75% and specificity of 92.1%. When the minimum T value + 1.2 standard deviation (SD) was used as the threshold, the sensitivity was 75% and specificity was 89.5%. Non-contrast-enhanced T mapping can be used for assessment of myocardial fibrosis associated with DCM by using the appropriate threshold.