Occurrence and Morphology of Ventricular Arrhythmias in Apparently
Normal Hearts in Relation to Late Gadolinium Enhancement on
Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance
Abstract
Introduction: Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) is the gold standard for
evaluating myocardial fibrosis. Few studies have explored the
association between ventricular arrhythmias (VAs) and fibrosis in
apparently normal hearts. We aimed to investigate the association
between the occurrence and morphology of VAs and left ventricular late
gadolinium enhancement (LV-LGE) in patients without known structural
heart diseases. Methods: This study enrolled 78 patients with apparently
normal hearts who underwent simultaneous 24-h ambulatory Holter
electrocardiogram (ECG) and CMR examinations. The presence and extent of
LGE was determined using CMR imaging and compared based on occurrence
and morphology of VAs. The clinical characteristics were also recorded
and calculated. Results: LV-LGE was observed in 19 (37.3%) and 4
(14.8%) patients with and without VAs, respectively (P=0.039). It was
more frequently observed in patients with polymorphic VAs (P=0.024) and
ST-segment depression (P=0.001), and its extent was greater in
polymorphic VAs than monomorphic VAs, with a difference that approached
significance (P=0.055). In multivariate analyses adjusted for other
clinical variables, the presence of ST-segment depression (HR: 8.83;
95% CI: 2.23-35.50; P=0.002), drinking (HR: 6.84; 95% CI: 1.63-28.56;
P=0.008), and polymorphic VAs (HR: 25.24; 95% CI: 3.88-164.06; P=0.001)
were associated with greater prevalence of LV-LGE. Conclusion: In this
cohort of patients without structural heart diseases, myocardial
fibrosis was associated with multiple VA morphologies and ST-segment
depression on Holter ambulatory ECG measurements.