Comprehensive Assessment of Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction Using Cardiac MRI

Abstract

Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) burden is increasing. Its diagnostic process is challenging and imprecise due to absence of a single diagnostic marker, and the multiparametric echocardiography evaluation needed. Left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction (LVEF) is a limited marker of LV function; thus, allocating HF phenotypes based on LVEF can be misleading. HFpEF encompasses a broad spectrum of causes, and its diagnostic criteria give a central role to echocardiography, a first-line technique with inherent limitations related to ultrasound capabilities. Conversely, cardiac magnetic resonance provides superior anatomic and functional assessment, enabling tissue characterization, offering unprecedented diagnostic precision.

Keywords: Cardiac filling pressures; Cardiac magnetic resonance; Diastolic dysfunction; Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.