Abstract
Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) has a limited role in predicting outlook in heart diseases including heart failure. We quantified the independent geometric factors that determine LVEF using cardiac MRI and sought to provide an improved measure of ventricular function by adjusting for such independent variables. A mathematical model was used to analyse the independent effects of structural variables and myocardial shortening on LVEF. These results informed analysis of cardiac MRI data from 183 patients (53 idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), 36 amyloidosis, 55 hypertensives and 39 healthy controls). Left ventricular volumes, LVEF, wall thickness, internal dimensions and longitudinal and midwall fractional shortening were measured. The modelling demonstrated LVEF increased in a curvilinear manner with increasing mFS and longitudinal shortening and wall thickness but decreased with increasing internal diameter. Controls in the clinical cohort had a mean LVEF 64 ± 7%, hypertensives 66 ± 8%, amyloid 49 ± 16% and DCM 30 ± 11%. The mean end-diastolic wall thickness in controls was 8 ± 1 mm, DCM 8 ± 1 mm, hypertensives 11 ± 3 mm and amyloid 14 ± 3 mm, P < 0.0001). LVEF correlated with absolute wall thickening relative to ventricular size (R2 = 0.766). A regression equation was derived from raw MRI data (R2 = 0.856) and used to ‘correct’ LVEF (EFc) by adjusting the wall thickness and ventricular size to the mean of the control group. Improved quantification of the effects of geometric changes and strain significantly enhances understanding the myocardial mechanics. The EFc resulted in reclassification of a ‘ventricular function’ in some individuals and may provide an improved measure of myocardial performance especially in thick-walled, low-volume ventricles.
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Available for senior author upon reasonable request.
Code availability
N/A. Equations provided in Appendix.
Abbreviations
- AWT:
-
Absolute wall thickening
- DCM:
-
Dilated cardiomyopathy
- EDWT:
-
End-diastolic wall thickness
- EDV:
-
End-diastolic volume
- ESWT:
-
End-systolic wall thickness
- HFmrEF:
-
Heart failure with mid-range ejection fraction
- HFpEF:
-
Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction
- HFrEF:
-
Heart failure with reduced ejection fraction
- HHD:
-
Hypertensive heart disease
- HTN:
-
Hypertension
- LAS:
-
Long-axis shortening
- LVEF:
-
Left ventricular ejection fraction
- LVIDd:
-
Left ventricular internal diameter at end-diastole diameter
- LVIDs:
-
Left ventricular internal diameter at end-systole
- mFS:
-
Midwall fractional shortening
- rAWT:
-
Relative absolute wall thickening
- RS:
-
Radial strain
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Study was supported by Bristol NIHR Biomedical Research Centre.
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All authors take responsibility for all aspects of the reliability and freedom from bias of the data presented and their discussed interpretation. DHM was responsible for the conception and design of the work. JCLR, BR, KH and SR collected the clinical data. DHM undertook the mathematical modelling. JCLR wrote the first draft. All authors are responsible for the accuracy of the final document and act as guarantors. All authors gave substantial contributions to interpretation of data, manuscript revisions and for intellectual content. All authors approved the final version published. All authors agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved. The scientific guarantor of this publication is Prof David MacIver.
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Appendix
Appendix
Midwall fractional shortening
Midwall fractional shortening was estimated using the following established [26]:
where:
Regression equations
Multiple linear regression (n = 183) of MRI cohort. D = left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (mm), W = end-diastolic wall thickness (mm), L = end-diastolic left ventricular length (mm), εL = long axis shortening (%), εC = midwall (circumferential) fractional shortening (%). Four statistical models were produced (Eqs. 1, 2, 3, 4). The highest correlation coefficient was obtained using all five input variables (Eq. 1) and the lowest with three variables including longitudinal shortening (Eq. 3):
5 degrees of freedom (D, W, εL, εC, L)
4 degrees of freedom (D, W, εL, εC)
3 degrees of freedom (D, W, εL)
3 degrees of freedom (D, W, εC)
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Rodrigues, J.C.L., Rooms, B., Hyde, K. et al. The corrected left ventricular ejection fraction: a potential new measure of ventricular function. Int J Cardiovasc Imaging 37, 1987–1997 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10554-021-02193-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10554-021-02193-4