Usefulness Of Late Gadolinium Enhancement As Non-Invasive Arrhythmic Risk Marker In Patients With Heart Failure And Systolic Dysfunction

The identification of prognostic markers in patients with heart failure of both ischemic and non ischemic etiology is an increasing need in the era of devices therapy. Risk stratification for sudden cardiac death (SCD) remains problematic with reliance on left ventricular function which predicts total mortality rather than arrhythmic events (AE). Recently cardiac magnetic resonance was employed to predict susceptibility for malignant arrhythmias. This study sought to determine the utility of late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) to predict AE. Three hundred consecutive patients with symptomatic heart failure and systolic dysfunction of both ischemic and non ischemic cause undergoing CMR, were classified into two groups attending to the presence (n 160) or absence of LGE (n 140), and were followed prospectively during 842 days. The primary endpoint was the combined of SCD or Ventricular tachycardia (VT). 23 patients had AE (8 SCD/15 VT) during the follow-up, 19 of them presenting LGE (83%). The presence of LGE was associated to a significantly higher AE rate (11.8.% vs 2.8% p< 0.001)(figure ). Compared to patients without LGE, midwall fibrosis and an ischemic pattern of LGE predicted AE. (3% vs 5% vs 14%, p= 0.001) LGE is a new non-invasive predictor of AE in patients with heart failure and systolic dysfunction. This suggest a potential role for risk stratification and better selection of patients who needs device therapy