No abstract

Sensitization, defined as the presence of circulating antibodies, presents challenges for heart transplant recipients and physicians. When present, sensitization can limit a transplantation candidate’s access to organs, prolong wait time, and, in some cases, exclude the candidate from heart transplantation altogether. The management of sensitization is not yet standardized, and current therapies have not yielded consistent results. Although current strategies involve antibody suppression and removal with intravenous immunoglobulin, plasmapheresis, and antibody therapy, newer strategies with more specific targets are being investigated.

Background Increased left ventricular myocardial thickness (LVMT) is a feature of several cardiac diseases. The purpose of this study was to establish standard reference values of normal LVMT with cardiac MR (CMR) and to assess variation with image acquisition plane, demographics and LV function. Methods and Results End-diastolic LVMT was measured on CMR steady-state free precession cine long and short axis images in 300 consecutive participants free of cardiac disease (169 women; 65.6±8.5 years) of the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis cohort. Mean LVMT on short axis images at the mid-cavity level was 5.3±0.9mm and 6.3±1.1mm for women and men, respectively. The average of the maximum LVMT at the mid-cavity for women/men were 7mm/9mm (long axis) and 7mm/8mm (short axis). Mean LVMT was positively associated with weight (0.02mm/kg, p=0.01) and body-surface-area (1.1mm/m2, p<0.001). No relationship was found between mean LVMT and age or height. Greater mean LVMT was associated with lower LV end-diastolic volume (0.01mm/ml, p<0.01), a lower LV end-systolic volume (−0.01mm/ml, p=0.01) and lower LV stroke volume (−0.01mm/ml, p<0.05). LVMT measured on long axis images at the basal and mid-cavity level were slightly greater (by 6% and 10%, respectively) than measurements obtained on short axis images; apical LVMT values on long axis images were 20% less than those on short axis images. Conclusion Normal values for wall thickness are provided for middle-aged and older subjects. Normal LVMT is lower for women than men. Observed values vary depending on the imaging plane for measurement.