title: Midwall fibrosis is an independent predictor of mortality in patients with aortic stenosis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The goal of this study was to assess the prognostic significance of midwall and infarct patterns of late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) in aortic stenosis.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Myocardial fibrosis occurs in aortic stenosis as part of the hypertrophic response. It can be detected by LGE, which is associated with an adverse prognosis in a range of other cardiac conditions.
  
  
  METHODS
  Between January 2003 and October 2008, consecutive patients with moderate or severe aortic stenosis undergoing cardiovascular magnetic resonance with administration of gadolinium contrast were enrolled into a registry. Patients were categorized into absent, midwall, or infarct patterns of LGE by blinded independent observers. Patient follow-up was completed using patient questionnaires, source record data, and the National Strategic Tracing Service.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 143 patients (age 68 ± 14 years; 97 male) were followed up for 2.0 ± 1.4 years. Seventy-two underwent aortic valve replacement, and 27 died (24 cardiac, 3 sudden cardiac deaths). Compared with those with no LGE (n = 49), univariate analysis revealed that patients with midwall fibrosis (n = 54) had an 8-fold increase in all-cause mortality despite similar aortic stenosis severity and coronary artery disease burden. Patients with an infarct pattern (n = 40) had a 6-fold increase. Midwall fibrosis (hazard ratio: 5.35; 95% confidence interval: 1.16 to 24.56; p = 0.03) and ejection fraction (hazard ratio: 0.96; 95% confidence interval: 0.94 to 0.99; p = 0.01) were independent predictors of all-cause mortality by multivariate analysis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Midwall fibrosis was an independent predictor of mortality in patients with moderate and severe aortic stenosis. It has incremental prognostic value to ejection fraction and may provide a useful method of risk stratification.
authors: Royal Brompton Hospital, London, United Kingdom.
authors: Marc R
authors: MR
authors: Dweck
authors: Sanjiv
authors: S
authors: Joshi
authors: Timothy
authors: T
authors: Murigu
authors: Francisco
authors: F
authors: Alpendurada
authors: Andrew
authors: A
authors: Jabbour
authors: Giovanni
authors: G
authors: Melina
authors: Winston
authors: W
authors: Banya
authors: Ankur
authors: A
authors: Gulati
authors: Isabelle
authors: I
authors: Roussin
authors: Sadaf
authors: S
authors: Raza
authors: Nishant A
authors: NA
authors: Prasad
authors: Rick
authors: R
authors: Wage
authors: Cesare
authors: C
authors: Quarto
authors: Emiliano
authors: E
authors: Angeloni
authors: Simone
authors: S
authors: Refice
authors: Mary
authors: M
authors: Sheppard
authors: Stuart A
authors: SA
authors: Cook
authors: Philip J
authors: PJ
authors: Kilner
authors: Dudley J
authors: DJ
authors: Pennell
authors: David E
authors: DE
authors: Newby
authors: Raad H
authors: RH
authors: Mohiaddin
authors: John
authors: J
authors: Pepper
authors: Sanjay K
authors: SK
authors: Prasad
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001024:Aortic Valve Stenosis / Q000150:complications / Q000401:mortality*; D005260:Female; D005355:Fibrosis; D005682:Gadolinium; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D017379:Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D012042:Registries; D018570:Risk Assessment
chemical_list: D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D005682:Gadolinium