Extracellular volume imaging by magnetic resonance imaging provides insights into overt and sub-clinical myocardial pathology.

Abstract

Conventional late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) cardiac magnetic resonance can detect myocardial infarction and some forms of non-ischaemic myocardial fibrosis. However, quantitative imaging of extracellular volume fraction (ECV) may be able to detect subtle abnormalities such as diffuse fibrosis or post-infarct remodelling of remote myocardium. The aims were (1) to measure ECV in myocardial infarction and non-ischaemic myocardial fibrosis, (2) to determine whether ECV varies with age, and (3) to detect sub-clinical abnormalities in 'normal appearing' myocardium remote from regions of infarction.