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. 2021 Dec 31:38:100947.
doi: 10.1016/j.ijcha.2021.100947. eCollection 2022 Feb.

Native cardiac magnetic resonance T1 mapping and cardiac mechanics as assessed by speckle tracking echocardiography in patients with beta-thalassaemia major

Wing-Shan See  1 , Edwina Kam-Fung So  1 , Gloria Yu-Yan Hwang  2 , Leanne Chin  3 , Lawrence Ip  3 , Wendy Wai-Man Lam  3 , Shau-Yin Ha  1 , Yiu-Fai Cheung  1
Affiliations

Native cardiac magnetic resonance T1 mapping and cardiac mechanics as assessed by speckle tracking echocardiography in patients with beta-thalassaemia major

Wing-Shan See et al. Int J Cardiol Heart Vasc. .

Abstract

Background: We hypothesize that cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) native T1 is associated with myocardial deformation in thalassaemia patients. The present study aimed to compare CMR native T1 values to conventional T2* values in patients with beta-thalassaemia and to explore relationships between these CMR parameters of myocardial iron overload and left ventricular (LV) and left atrial (LA) myocardial deformation.

Methods: Thirty-four (16 males) patients aged 35.5 ± 9.2 years were studied. Myocardial T2* and T1 mapping were performed to assess the cardiac iron overload, while two-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography was performed in determine LV and LA myocardial deformation.

Results: T2* was 36.4 ± 8.7 ms with 3 patients having myocardial iron load (T2*<20 ms). The native T1 was 947.1 ± 84.8 ms, which was significantly lower than the reported normal values in the literature. There was a significant correlation between T1 and T2* values (r = 0.68, p < 0.001). There were no significant correlations between T1 and T2* values and conventional and tissue Doppler parameters of left ventricular systolic and diastolic function. On the other hand, T1, but not T2*, values were found to correlate negatively with maximum LA area indexed by body surface area (r = -0.34, p = 0.047) and positively with LA strain rate at atrial contraction (r = 0.36, p = 0.04). There were no associations between either of these CMR parameters with indices of ventricular deformation.

Conclusions: In patients with beta-thalassaemia major, native T1 values are decreased, associated with T2* values, and correlated with maximum LA area and LA strain rate at atrial contraction.

Keywords: Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging; Cardiac mechanics; Myocardial strain; T1 mapping; Thalassaemia major.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Native T1 mapping of basal (left), mid-ventricular (middle), and apical (right) segments of the left ventricle in a thalassaemia patient without iron load.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Speckle tracking assessment of left atrial (upper panel) and left ventricular (lower panel) strain and strain rate in a patient. GLS, global longitudinal strain; LV, left ventricular; SRa, late diastolic strain rate; SRe, early diastolic strain rate; SRs, systolic strain rate; aSRac; atrial strain at atrial contraction; aSRed; atrial strain at early diastole; aSRs; atrial strain at ventricular systole.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Scatter plot showing the correlation between native T1 and T2*.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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