Certain MRI Findings May Predict Future Cardiac Events

Some MR imaging findings, such as left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), may have prognostic value regarding future cardiac events, according to a study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Researchers from the Netherlands undertook a meta-analysis to review the prognostic value of cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) in for future cardiovascular events in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) or a recent myocardial infarction (MI).

The researchers identified 56 studies with 25,497 patients. After review, the researchers found that too few patients with a recent MI had been evaluated to establish associations between CMR findings and hard events (all-cause mortality, cardiac death, cardiac transplantation, and MI). However, it was found that in this group, LVEF was independently associated with major adverse cardiac events (MACE).

For patients with suspected or known CAD, the studies showed that wall motion abnormalities, inducible perfusion defects, LVEF, and infarction were independently associated with hard events. As well, the presence of inducible perfusion defects was associated with MACE.

The authors concluded that these findings indicate the utility of developing reporting guidelines using CMR among patients with CAD or recent MI.