Applicaton of Cardiac 4D Flow MRI for Prediction of Cardiogenic Cerebral Infarction

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K17545
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 53020:Cardiology-related
• Research Institution: National Cardiovascular Center Research Institute
• Principal Investigator: Inoue Yuko 国立研究開発法人国立循環器病研究センター, 病院, 医長 (20769898)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 心房細動 / 脳梗塞

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In a prospective single-center observational study, 20 patients (mean age 74 years) with a history of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation underwent cardiac MRI. Atrial and ventricular function and 4D-flow movies on cardiac MRI were analyzed. Patients were divided into 10 with cardiogenic cerebral infarctio (CI) and 10 without CI according to the presence or absence of history of CI.
Patients with CI had higher CHADS-VASc scores (2.3 vs. 1.6) and lower left atrial blood flow velocity on transesophageal echocardiography (52 vs. 65 cm/sec) compared to those without OCI (left atrium: 35.6 vs. 43.7; left atrium: 32.4 vs. 43.8 cm/sec).
Cardiac MRI 4D flow analysis showed reduced left atrial perfusion in patients with paroxysmal AF and previous cerebral infarction. It is expected that the number of patients will be increased in the future to further clarify the relationship between cerebral infarction and atrial function using cardiac MRI.

Free Research Field

不整脈

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

左心房および左心耳の血流低下が発作性心房細動および脳梗塞に関連していることを明確にすることで、これらの疾患の病態生理の理解につながると考えられた。また、血流低下が脳梗塞のリスク要因であることを証明できれば、心臓MRI 4D flow解析を用いて、発作性心房細動患者の脳梗塞リスクをより正確に評価できる可能性がある。