Clinical impact of a new cardiac magnetic resonance imaging program: a single center US experience

While establishing a Cardiac Magnetic Resonance (CMR) program at an academic institution in the United States, we sought to evaluate indications and direct clinical impact of CMR on patient management and decision- making

Correction: Impact of cardiovascular magnetic resonance on management and clinical decision-making in heart failure patients

Background: Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) can provide important diagnostic and prognostic information in patients with heart failure. However, in the current health care environment, use of a new imaging modality like CMR requires evidence for direct additive impact on clinical management. We sought to evaluate the impact of CMR on clinical management and diagnosis in patients with heart failure. Methods: We prospectively studied 150 consecutive patients with heart failure and an ejection fraction ≤50% referred for CMR. Definitions for “significant clinical impact” of CMR were pre-defined and collected directly from medical records and/or from patients. Categories of significant clinical impact included: new diagnosis, medication change, hospital admission/discharge, as well as performance or avoidance of invasive procedures (angiography, revascularization, device therapy or biopsy). Results: Overall, CMR had a significant clinical impact in 65% of patients. This included an entirely new diagnosis in 30% of cases and a change in management in 52%. CMR results directly led to angiography in 9% and to the performance of percutaneous coronary intervention in 7%. In a multivariable model that included clinical and imaging parameters, presence of late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) was the only independent predictor of “significant clinical impact” (OR 6.72, 95% CI 2.56-17.60, p=0.0001). Conclusions: CMR made a significant additive clinical impact on management, decision-making and diagnosis in 65% of heart failure patients. This additive impact was seen despite universal use of prior echocardiography in this patient group. The presence of LGE was the best independent predictor of significant clinical impact following CMR

Insulin resistance, subclinical left ventricular remodeling, and the obesity paradox: the multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis

ObjectivesThis study assessed whether impaired fasting glucose (IFG), insulin resistance, and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) had effects on cardiac remodeling, independent of obesity, in the MESA (Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis) trial.BackgroundRecent studies have suggested that central obesity and insulin resistance may be primary mediators of obesity-related cardiac remodeling independent of body mass index (BMI).MethodsWe investigated 4,364 subjects without diabetes in the MESA trial. IFG (100 to 125 mg/dl) or insulin resistance (by homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance [HOMA-IR]) and WHR were used for cardiometabolic phenotyping. Multivariate linear regression analysis was used to determine the effects of the cardiometabolic markers on left ventricular (LV) remodeling, assessed primarily through the LV mass-to-volume ratio obtained by cine cardiac magnetic resonance imaging.ResultsIndividuals with IFG were more likely to be older and hypertensive, with increased prevalence of cardiometabolic risk factors regardless of BMI. In each quartile of BMI, subjects with above-median HOMA-IR, above-median WHR, or IFG had a higher LV mass-to-volume ratio (p < 0.05 for all). HOMA-IR (p < 0.0001), WHR (p < 0.0001), and the presence of IFG (p = 0.04), but not BMI (p = 0.24), were independently associated with LV mass-to-volume ratio after adjustment for age, sex, hypertension, race, and dyslipidemia.ConclusionsInsulin resistance and WHR were associated with concentric LV remodeling independent of BMI. These results support the emerging hypothesis that the cardiometabolic phenotype, defined by insulin resistance and central obesity, may play a critical role in LV remodeling independently of BMI

Visceral Adiposity and the Risk of Metabolic Syndrome Across Body Mass Index The MESA Study

AbstractObjectivesThis study sought to evaluate differential effects of visceral fat (VF) and subcutaneous fat and their effects on metabolic syndrome (MetS) risk across body mass index (BMI) categories.BackgroundThe regional distribution of adipose tissue is an emerging risk factor for cardiometabolic disease, although serial changes in fat distribution have not been extensively investigated. VF and its alterations over time may be a better marker for risk than BMI in normal weight and overweight or obese individuals.MethodsWe studied 1,511 individuals in the MESA (Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis) with adiposity assessment by computed tomography (CT). A total of 253 participants without MetS at initial scan underwent repeat CT (median interval 3.3 years). We used discrete Cox regression with net reclassification to investigate whether baseline and changes in VF area are associated with MetS.ResultsHigher VF was associated with cardiometabolic risk and coronary artery calcification, regardless of BMI. After adjustment, VF was more strongly associated with incident MetS than subcutaneous fat regardless of weight, with a 28% greater MetS hazard per 100 cm2/m VF area and significant net reclassification (net reclassification index: 0.44, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.29 to 0.60) over clinical risk. In individuals with serial imaging, initial VF (hazard ratio: 1.24 per 100 cm2/m, 95% CI: 1.08 to 1.44 per 100 cm2/m, p = 0.003) and change in VF (hazard ratio: 1.05 per 5% change, 95% CI: 1.01 to 1.08 per 5% change, p = 0.02) were associated with MetS after adjustment. Changes in subcutaneous fat were not associated with incident MetS after adjustment for clinical risk and VF area.ConclusionsVF is modestly associated with BMI. However, across BMI, a single measure of and longitudinal change in VF predict MetS, even accounting for weight changes. Visceral adiposity is essential to assessing cardiometabolic risk, regardless of age, race, or BMI, and may serve as a marker and target of therapy in cardiometabolic disease

Transitions in Metabolic Risk and Longâ Term Cardiovascular Health: Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/139081/1/jah31816.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/139081/2/jah31816_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/139081/3/jah31816-sup-0001-TableS1-FigureS1.pd

Effect of Sleep Apnea and Continuous Positive Airway Pressure on Cardiac Structure and Recurrence of Atrial Fibrillation

Background: Sleep apnea (SA) is associated with an increased risk of atrial fibrillation (AF). We sought to determine the effect of SA on cardiac structure in patients with AF, whether therapy for SA was associated with beneficial cardiac structural remodelling, and whether beneficial cardiac structural remodelling translated into a reduced risk of recurrence of AF after pulmonary venous isolation (PVI). Methods and Results: A consecutive group of 720 patients underwent a cardiac magnetic resonance study before PVI. Patients with SA (n=142, 20%) were more likely to be male, diabetic, and hypertensive and have an increased pulmonary artery pressure, right ventricular volume, atrial dimensions, and left ventricular mass. Treated SA was defined as duration of continuous positive airway pressure therapy of >4 hours per night. Treated SA patients (n=71, 50%) were more likely to have paroxysmal AF, a lower blood pressure, lower ventricular mass, and smaller left atrium. During a follow‐up of 42 months, AF recurred in 245 patients. The cumulative incidence of AF recurrence was 51% in patients with SA, 30% in patients without SA, 68% in patients with untreated SA, and 35% in patients with treated SA. In a multivariable model, the presence of SA (hazard ratio 2.79, CI 1.97 to 3.94, P<0.0001) and untreated SA (hazard ratio 1.61, CI 1.35 to 1.92, P<0.0001) were highly associated with AF recurrence. Conclusions: Patients with SA have an increased blood pressure, pulmonary artery pressure, right ventricular volume, left atrial size, and left ventricular mass. Therapy with continuous positive airway pressure is associated with lower blood pressure, atrial size, and ventricular mass, and a lower risk of AF recurrence after PVI

Effects of omecamtiv mecarbil on symptoms and health-related quality of life in patients with chronic heart failure: results from the COSMIC-HF study

Background: Chronic HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) impairs health related quality of life (HRQL). Omecamtiv mecarbil, a novel activator of cardiac myosin, improves left ventricular systolic function and remodeling and reduces natriuretic peptides. We sought to evaluate the effect of omecamtiv mecarbil on symptoms and HRQL in patients with chronic HFrEF and elevated natriuretic peptides enrolled in the COSMIC-HF trial. Methods: Patients (n = 448) were randomized 1:1:1 to placebo, 25 mg of omecamtiv mecarbil twice daily (OM 25 mg), or to pharmacokinetically-guided dose titration (OM-PK) for 20 weeks. The Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ) was administered to assess HRQL at baseline, 16 weeks, and 20 weeks. The primary scores of interest were the Total Symptom Score (TSS), Physical Limitation Scale (PLS), and Clinical Summary Score (CSS). Results: Mean change in score from baseline to 20 weeks for the TSS was 5.0 (95%CI: 1.8-8.1) for placebo, 6.6(95%CI: 3.4-9.8) for OM 25 mg (p = 0.32 vs placebo), and 9.9 (95%CI: 6.7-13.0) for OM-PK (p = 0.03 vs placebo); for the PLS, it was 3.1 for placebo (95%CI: -0.3-6.6), 6.0 (95%CI: 3.1-8.9) for OM 25 mg (p=0.12), and 4.3 (95%CI: 0.7-7.9) for OM-PK (p=0.42); for the CSS, it was 4.1 (95%CI: 1.4-6.9) for placebo, 6.3 (95%CI: 3.6-9.0) for OM 25 mg (p=0.19), and 7.0 (95%CI: 4.1-10.0) for OM-PK (p=0.14). Differences between omecamtiv mecarbil and placebo were greater in patients who were more symptomatic at baseline. Conclusions: HRQL as measured by the TSS improved in patients with HFrEF assigned to omecamtiv mecarbil (OM-PK group) relative to placebo. Ongoing trials are prospectively testing whether omecamtiv mecarbil improves symptoms and HRQL in HFrEF