Cardiovascular magnetic resonance for the assessment of patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation: a pilot study.
BACKGROUND
Before trans-catheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), assessment of cardiac function and accurate measurement of the aortic root are key to determine the correct size and type of the prosthesis. The aim of this study was to compare cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) and trans-thoracic echocardiography (TTE) for the assessment of aortic valve measurements and left ventricular function in high-risk elderly patients submitted to TAVI.


METHODS
Consecutive patients with severe aortic stenosis and contraindications for surgical aortic valve replacement were screened from April 2009 to January 2011 and imaged with TTE and CMR.


RESULTS
Patients who underwent both TTE and CMR (n = 49) had a mean age of 80.8 ± 4.8 years and a mean logistic EuroSCORE of 14.9 ± 9.3%. There was a good correlation between TTE and CMR in terms of annulus size (R2 = 0.48, p < 0.001), left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) diameter (R2 = 0.62, p < 0.001) and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) (R2 = 0.47, p < 0.001) and a moderate correlation in terms of aortic valve area (AVA) (R2 = 0.24, p < 0.001). CMR generally tended to report larger values than TTE for all measurements. The Bland-Altman test indicated that the 95% limits of agreement between TTE and CMR ranged from -5.6 mm to + 1.0 mm for annulus size, from -0.45 mm to + 0.25 mm for LVOT, from -0.45 mm2 to + 0.25 mm2 for AVA and from -29.2% to 13.2% for LVEF.


CONCLUSIONS
In elderly patients candidates to TAVI, CMR represents a viable complement to transthoracic echocardiography.
Division of Cardiology, Ferrarotto Hospital, Catania, Italy. lamanna.cardio@gmail.com
Alessio
A
La Manna
Alessandra
A
Sanfilippo
Davide
D
Capodanno
Antonella
A
Salemi
Gesualdo
G
Polizzi
Wanda
W
Deste
Glauco
G
Cincotta
Alessandra
A
Cadoni
Anna
A
Marchese
Michele
M
Figuera
Gian P
GP
Ussia
Rosetta
R
Pittalà
Carmelo
C
Privitera
Corrado
C
Tamburino
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001021:Aortic Valve / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D001024:Aortic Valve Stenosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D006328:Cardiac Catheterization / Q000295:instrumentation; D005260:Female; D006350:Heart Valve Prosthesis; D019918:Heart Valve Prosthesis Implantation / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D016014:Linear Models; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D018579:Patient Selection; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013318:Stroke Volume; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014463:Ultrasonography; D016277:Ventricular Function, Left