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Age, Atrial Fibrillation, and Structural Heart Disease Are the Main Determinants of Left Atrial Fibrosis Detected by Delayed‐Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging in a General Cardiology Population
Author(s) -
COCHET HUBERT,
MOURIES AMAURY,
NIVET HUBERT,
SACHER FREDERIC,
DERVAL NICOLAS,
DENIS ARNAUD,
MERLE MATHILDE,
RELAN JATIN,
HOCINI MÉLÈZE,
HAÏSSAGUERRE MICHEL,
LAURENT FRANÇOIS,
MONTAUDON MICHEL,
JAÏS PIERRE
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of cardiovascular electrophysiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.193
H-Index - 138
eISSN - 1540-8167
pISSN - 1045-3873
DOI - 10.1111/jce.12651
Subject(s) - medicine , atrial fibrillation , cardiology , population , magnetic resonance imaging , heart disease , cardiac magnetic resonance imaging , fibrosis , radiology , environmental health
Atrial Fibrosis on MRI in Patients Introduction We studied the extent and distribution of left atrial (LA) fibrosis on delayed‐enhanced (DE) MRI in a general cardiology population. Methods and Results One hundred ninety consecutive patients referred for cardiac MRI underwent DE imaging using a free breathing method. The population comprised 60 AF patients and 130 patients without AF, including 75 with structural heart disease (SHD). DE was quantified using histogram thresholding, expressed in % of the wall. Regression analysis was performed to identify predictors of DE. Additionally, DE was registered on a template to study its distribution in subpopulations. In the total population, age, AF, and SHD were independently associated with DE. DE was increasingly observed from 11.1 ± 4.7% in patients with no SHD nor AF, 18.8 ± 7.8% in SHD and no AF history, 22.9 ± 7.8% in paroxysmal AF, to 27.8 ± 7.7% in persistent AF. Among non‐AF patients, age and SHD were independently associated with DE. Among AF patients, female gender and AF persistence were independently associated with DE. DE was variably distributed but more frequently detected in the posterior wall. Conclusion Age, history of AF, and SHD are the most powerful predictors of atrial fibrosis, as detected by MRI, in a general cardiology population. Atrial fibrosis predominates in the posterior LA wall.