Abstract
Background: We investigated the association between left ventricle ejection fraction (LVEF) and vortex flow (VF), and whether cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) response can be predicted using VF mapping (VFM) in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Methods and Results: Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging data for 20 patients with heart failure (HF) with LVEF ≥40% and 25 patients with DCM with LVEF <40%, scheduled for CRT, were retrospectively analyzed. The maximum VF (MVF) on short-axis, long-axis and 4-chamber LV cine imaging were calculated using VFM. Summed MVF was used as a representative value for each case and was significantly greater for patients with DCM than for patients with HF with LVEF ≥40% (25.2±19.2% vs. 12.1±15.4%, P<0.005). Summed MVF was significantly greater for CRT responders (n=12, 35.8±22.7%) than for non-responders (n=13, 15.8±8.7%, P=0.04) during the mean follow-up period of 38.4 months after CRT. Patients with summed MVF ≥31.3% had a significantly higher major adverse cardiac event-free rate than those with MVF <31.3% (log-rank=4.51, P<0.05). Conclusions: On VFM analysis, LV VF interrupted efficient ejection in HF. Summed MVF can predict CRT response in DCM.