ONISCHEMIC DILATED CARDIomyopathy is a common heart muscle disease with a prevalence of at least 1 in 2500 adults. 1 It is characterized by left ventricular cavity enlargement and impaired contractility in the absence of significant coronary artery disease. 1 The condition is associated with significant morbidity and mortality due to progressive heart failure (HF) and sudden cardiac death (SCD). 2 Despite For editorial comment see p 929.

In patients with HCM, myocardial fibrosis as measured by late gadolinium enhancement cardiovascular magnetic resonance is an independent predictor of adverse outcome. (The Prognostic Significance of Fibrosis Detection in Cardiomyopathy; NCT00930735).

Background-Cardiovascular magnetic resonance is the gold-standard technique for the assessment of ventricular function.Although left ventricular volumes and ejection fraction are strong predictors of outcome in dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), there are limited data regarding the prognostic significance of right ventricular (RV) systolic dysfunction (RVSD). We investigated whether cardiovascular magnetic resonance assessment of RV function has prognostic value in DCM. Methods and Results-We prospectively studied 250 consecutive DCM patients with the use of cardiovascular magnetic resonance. RVSD, defined by RV ejection fraction ≤45%, was present in 86 (34%) patients. During a median follow-up period of 6.8 years, there were 52 deaths, and 7 patients underwent cardiac transplantation. Received March 10, 2013; accepted July 30, 2013. From the Royal Brompton Hospital, London, United Kingdom (A.G., T.F.I., A.J., F.A., K.G., N.A.I., S.R., J.K., T.D.H.B., K.M., E.L., M.R., R.W., T.C.P., R.S., J.-P.C., S.A.C., M.R.C., R.G.A., D.J.P., S.K.P.); Ealing Hospital, London, United Kingdom (R.G.A.); National Heart & Lung Institute, Imperial College, London, United Kingdom (T.F.I., K.G., R.S., J.-.P.C., S.A.C., M.R.C., D.J.P., S.K.P.); and National Heart Centre Singapore, Singapore (S.A.C.).The online-only Data Supplement is available with this article at http://circ.ahajournals.org/lookup/suppl

CMR is a valuable component of the diagnostic workup for ARVC when performed with a dedicated protocol by specialists with experience in analysis of volumes, right ventricular wall motion, and delayed-enhancement imaging.