title: Regional left ventricular myocardial dysfunction as a predictor of incident cardiovascular events MESA (multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis).
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We sought to examine the prognostic value of subclinical left ventricular (LV) regional myocardial dysfunction (RMD) measured by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) among asymptomatic individuals.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  LV RMD, defined as segmental impairment in systolic wall thickening, predicts adverse events in patients with established cardiovascular disease. MRI is highly accurate for detecting subtle RMD, of which the prognostic significance in a large multiethnic asymptomatic population is not known.
  
  
  METHODS
  We used MRI to evaluate baseline regional LV myocardial function and prospectively followed a multiethnic (African American, Caucasian, Chinese, and Hispanic) population-based sample of 4,510 men and women without cardiovascular disease for a mean of 4.6 years. Regional myocardial dysfunction was defined as the presence of impaired systolic wall thickening (<10th percentile of segment-specific population distribution) in ≥2 contiguous LV segments within any given coronary artery territory.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Baseline prevalence of RMD was 25.6%. Heart failure developed in 34 (1.0%) and 30 (2.6%) participants without and with RMD, respectively (p < 0.001). After adjustment for demographics and traditional risk factors, RMD remained independently associated with incident heart failure (hazard ratio [HR]: 2.62; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.56 to 4.39; p < 0.001). The relationship persisted after further adjustment for biomarkers of reported association with cardiovascular disease and indexes of global LV systolic dysfunction and hypertrophy (HR: 1.80; 95% CI: 1.02 to 3.20; p = 0.044). Similarly, RMD independently conferred an increased risk for hard coronary events (myocardial infarction or death from coronary heart disease; HR: 1.75; 95% CI: 1.06 to 2.89; p = 0.029), the composite of hard coronary events and stroke (HR: 1.72; 95% CI: 1.16 to 2.56; p = 0.005), and all atherosclerotic cardiovascular events (HR: 1.50; 95% CI: 1.09 to 2.07; p = 0.012).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Among an asymptomatic multiethnic American cohort, RMD is an independent predictor beyond traditional risk factors and global LV assessment for incident heart failure and atherosclerotic cardiovascular events. The clinical utility of early recognition of this subclinical phenotype deserves further investigation. (Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis [MESA]; NCT00005487).
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21287-0409, USA.
authors.forename: Raymond T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bluemke
authors.forename: Antoinette
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gomes
authors.forename: Gregory
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Burke
authors.forename: Steve
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shea
authors.forename: Kiang
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Hossein
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bahrami
authors.forename: Shantanu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sinha
authors.forename: Colin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Veronica
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Fernandes
authors.forename: Robyn
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: McClelland
authors.forename: João A C
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Lima
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000208:ethnology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011446:Prospective Studies; D018487:Ventricular Dysfunction, Left / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000503:physiopathology