Abstract
Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) is the reference standard for non-invasive assessment of right-sided heart function. Recent advances in CMR post-processing facilitate quantification of tricuspid annular (TA) dynamics and longitudinal strains of the right ventricle (RV) and right atrium (RA). We aimed to determine age- and sex-specific changes in CMR-derived TA dynamics, and RV and RA functional parameters in healthy Asian adults. We studied 360 healthy subjects aged 21–79 years, with 30 men and 30 women in each of the six age groups. Functional parameters of RV and RA were measured on standard four-chamber cine CMR using fast feature tracking: (1) TA peak velocities (systolic velocity S′, early diastolic velocity E′, late diastolic velocity A′) and TA plane systolic excursion (TAPSE); (2) RV global longitudinal strain (GLS) and strain rates; and (3) RA phasic longitudinal strains and strain rates. S′ and TAPSE exhibited negative correlations with age. RV GLS was significantly higher in females than in males but not associated with age in both sexes. Females had similar E′, lower A′, and higher E′/A′ ratios compared to males. Positive associations of E′ and E′/A′, and negative association of A′ with age were observed in both sexes. Females had higher RA reservoir and conduit strains compared to males. There were significantly negative and positive associations between RA conduit and booster strains, respectively, with age. Age- and sex-specific reference ranges were established, and associations revealed, for fast CMR feature tracking parameters of right heart function in a large normal Asian population.
Highlights
The right side of the heart has traditionally received less attention than the left, yet there is a growing body of evidence showing that right heart size and function are perhaps of equal importance in providing diagnostic and prognostic information in a wide range of cardiovascular diseases [1].Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging is the current gold standard for quantitation of right ventricular (RV) geometry and function [2]
Age group-specific CMR measurements stratified by sex are presented in Tables 2, 3
Measurements of right heart dimensions and volumes stratified by sex and age group are presented in Supplementary Tables 1–3
Summary
Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging is the current gold standard for quantitation of right ventricular (RV) geometry and function [2]. Recent advances in CMR post-processing have facilitated reliable quantitation of tricuspid annular (TA) dynamics and longitudinal strains of the RV and right atrium (RA) using feature tracking [4,5,6,7,8]. A prior study demonstrated the prognostic utility of impaired fast CMR feature tracking-derived RA strain parameters for predicting clinical and hemodynamic deterioration in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) [7]. The quantitative RV fast strain and strain rate parameters assessed from CMR identify abnormalities of RV function in rTOF and PAH and are predictive of exercise capacity, RV decompensation, and clinical risks in these patients [8]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
