In patients with LVNC evaluated by using CMR, the degree of LV trabeculation seems to have no prognostic impact over and above LV dilation, LV systolic dysfunction, and presence of LGE.

Restrictive cardiomyopathy (RCM) is the least common among cardiomyopathies. It can be idiopathic, familial, or secondary to systematic disorders. Marked increase in left and/or right ventricular filling pressures causes symptoms and signs of congestive heart failure. Electrocardiographic findings are nonspecific and include atrioventricular conduction and QRS complex abnormalities and supraventricular and ventricular arrhythmias. Echocardiography and cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) play a major role in diagnosis. Echocardiography reveals normal or hypertrophied ventricles, preserved systolic function, marked biatrial enlargement, and impaired diastolic function, often with restrictive filling pattern. CMR offering a higher spatial resolution than echocardiography can provide detailed information about anatomic structures, perfusion, ventricular function, and tissue characterization. CMR with late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) and novel approaches (myocardial mapping) can direct the diagnosis to specific subtypes of RCM, depending on the pattern of scar formation. When noninvasive studies have failed, endomyocardial biopsy is required. Differentiation between RCM and constrictive pericarditis (CP), nowadays by echocardiography, is important since both present as heart failure with normal-sized ventricles and preserved ejection fraction but CP can be treated by means of anti-inflammatory and surgical treatment, while the treatment options of RCM are dictated by the underlying condition. Prognosis is generally poor despite optimal medical treatment.

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Our study indicates that regional myocardial mechanics are differentially influenced by local morphological parameters. While SLS is dominated by WT, SCS is more determined by LT and H. These findings may have an important role in diagnosis and prognosis of patients with thickened hearts.

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