Abstract 12451: Pulmonary Artery Stiffness is an Independent Predictor of Right Ventricular Mass and Function

Abstract

Background: Right ventricular (RV) mass is independently associated with cardiovascular risk in the general population, but the underlying causes are not known. Objectives: We used cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging to determine if there was a relationship between pulmonary (PA) stiffness and measures of RV function and mass. Methods: 156 healthy volunteers underwent 1.5T cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging. Pulmonary pulse wave velocity (PWV), derived from phase-contrast imaging, was used to assess vascular stiffness. RV performance was assessed using feature-tracking to derive peak systolic strain and strain rate, as well as peak early-diastolic strain rate (PEDSR). RV volumes, ejection fraction (RVEF) and mass (RVM) were measured from the cine images. The association of pulmonary PWV with RV function and mass was quantified by univariate linear regression. Results: Pulmonary PWV and RV ejection fraction (RVEF) both increased with age (R = +0.32, p < 0.001; R = +0.17, p = 0.04 respectively). Adjusting for the effects of age, body surface area and gender, pulmonary PWV showed an independent association with increased RVEF (R = +0.17, p = 0.03), RVM (R = +0.26, p=0.001), RV radial strain (R = +0.36, p = 0.005) and strain rate (R = +0.38, p < 0.001) and reductions in radial (R = -0.45, p = 0.002), longitudinal (R = -0.42, p = 0.008) and circumferential (R = -0.45, p = 0.003) PEDSR. Conclusions: In subjects with no known cardiovascular disease, PA stiffness increases with age and is independently associated with both RV mass and diastolic dysfunction. These findings suggest that prognostically adverse changes in RV function and morphology are associated with age-related changes in PA stiffness.