Feature-tracking myocardial strain in healthy adults- a magnetic resonance study at 3.0 tesla

Abstract

We analyzed feature-tracking derived circumferential and longitudinal strain in healthy volunteers who underwent cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) at 3.0 T. 88 healthy adults (44.6 ± 18.0 years old, 49% male), without prior cardiovascular disease, underwent CMR at 3.0 T including cine, and late gadolinium enhancement in subjects >45 years. LV functional analysis and feature-tracking strain analyses were carried out. Global strain had better reproducibility than segmental strain. There was a sex specific difference global longitudinal strain (mean ± SD, −18.48 ± 3.65% (male), −21.91 ± 3.01% (female), p < 0.001), but not global circumferential strain (mean ± SD, −25.41 ± 4.50% (male), −27.94 ± 3.48% (female), p = 0.643). There was no association of strain with ageing after accounting for sex for both global longitudinal and circumferential strain. Feature-tracking strain analysis is feasible at 3.0 T. Healthy female volunteers demonstrated higher magnitudes of global longitudinal strain when compared to male counterparts. Whilst global cine-strain has good reproducibility, segmental strain does not.

Strain‐encoded magnetic resonance: a method for the assessment of myocardial deformation

“…Strain-encoded magnetic resonance the assessment of segmental strain was confirmed in a very recent study conducted in 88 healthy adults 85 and by Almutairi et al, who noticed better reproducibility for global compared with regional strain and referred to the need of validation using physical and numerical phantoms. 86 In the same direction, baseline strain parameters using FTI CMR 1-3 days after reperfused ST-elevation myocardial infarction were not able to predict adverse LV remodelling, 87 which is not in agreement with the data reported by Neizel et al for SENC.…”

MRI in cardio‐oncology: A review of cardiac complications in oncologic care

“…Global strain values can be obtained for each of the strain dimensions and strain rates can be calculated as the temporal derivative. Circumferential and longitudinal strain have negative strain magnitudes that reflect tissue shortening, while radial strain has a positive value to reflect myocardial thickening …”

“…Feature tracking is more clinically feasible than other techniques, but has yielded mixed results in terms of data consistency . Mangion et al showed that global cine‐strain measurements offer good reproducibility, whereas regional strain is less reproducible . Additionally, myocardial strain parameters are associated with age and sex, which suggests analysis of strain should account for these differences .…”

“…Circumferential and longitudinal strain have negative strain magnitudes that reflect tissue shortening, while radial strain has a positive value to reflect myocardial thickening. 43 The first myocardial strain measurements with MRI were originally achieved in the 1980s with the development of tagging methods. Tagging involves magnetically labeling regions of the myocardium by applying selective RF pulses to saturate the spins of hydrogen atoms along orthogonal planes to form a tagged grid that moves with the tissue during the cardiac cycle, from which strain can be measured.…”

“…50,51 Mangion et al showed that global cine-strain measurements offer good reproducibility, whereas regional strain is less reproducible. 43 Additionally, myocardial strain parameters are associated with age and sex, which suggests analysis of strain should account for these differences. 52 Figures 2-4 show circumferential and radial strain calculations with both global and segmental approaches utilizing feature tracking.…”