Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Appraising Myocardial Strain and Biomechanics: A Current Overview

Abstract

Subclinical alterations in myocardial structure and function occur early during the natural disease course. In contrast, clinically overt signs and symptoms occur during late phases, being associated with worse outcomes. Identification of such subclinical changes is critical for timely diagnosis and accurate management. Hence, implementing cost-effective imaging techniques with accuracy and reproducibility may improve long-term prognosis. A growing body of evidence supports using cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) to quantify deformation parameters. Tissue-tagging (TT-CMR) and feature-tracking CMR (FT-CMR) can measure longitudinal, circumferential, and radial strains and recent research emphasize their diagnostic and prognostic roles in ischemic heart disease and primary myocardial illnesses. Additionally, these methods can accurately determine LV wringing and functional dynamic geometry parameters, such as LV torsion, twist/untwist, LV sphericity index, and long-axis strain, and several studies have proved their utility in prognostic prediction in various cardiovascular patients. More recently, few yet important studies have suggested the superiority of fast strain-encoded imaging CMR-derived myocardial strain in terms of accuracy and significantly reduced acquisition time, however, more studies need to be carried out to establish its clinical impact. Herein, the current review aims to provide an overview of currently available data regarding the role of CMR in evaluating myocardial strain and biomechanics.

The potential predictive value of cardiac mechanics for left ventricular reverse remodelling in dilated cardiomyopathy

“…Our study, further found that rGLPS (cutoff value of 0.045), rather than GLPS, was an independent determinant of LVRR in DCM patients 13,41 . Myocardial strain depends not only on myocardial contraction but also on intracellular, extracellular, and molecular components of the myocardium 42 . This can be reflected by the mass of the myocardium.…”

“… 13 , 41 Myocardial strain depends not only on myocardial contraction but also on intracellular, extracellular, and molecular components of the myocardium. 42 This can be reflected by the mass of the myocardium. The rStrain, which is defined as the absolute value of LV global peak strain divided by LVMi, is less susceptible to changes in myocardial mass and can better reflect myocardial contraction function.…”

Analysis of the Influence of Hypergravity State in the Simulated Aerospace Flight Environment on the Cardiac Structure of Amphibians during Development

“…Especially the long axis of the ventricular cavity, it is an important indicator for determining ventricular filling and emptying index in clinical imaging medicine. The long axis of the ventricular cavity is also an important diagnostic indicator for determining the mechanical contraction mechanics of ventricular muscles, and has important reference value for the development of natural myocardial disease and clinical changes in cardiac structure and function [17] . The difference between the maximum and minimum lengths of the long axis during the same cardiac cycle reflects the level of ventricular systolic function [18] .…”

The Multi-Faceted Utility of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Imaging: Editorial on Special Issue “Advances in Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance”

“…The work written by Zlibut et al provides a comprehensive overview of the available data on the role of CMR in evaluating myocardial strain and biomechanics-highlighting its potential as a valuable tool for early detection, diagnosis, and management of cardiovascular diseases [13]. The authors highlight two specific CMR techniques, tissue-tagging (TT-CMR) and feature-tracking CMR (FT-CMR), that have been shown to accurately determine deformation parameters and functional dynamic geometry parameters.…”