Heart MRI measure linked to key markers of PH severity
Small study suggests T2RV/LV may offer a noninvasive way to assess PH
Written by |
A measurement taken by heart MRI was linked to several invasive measures used to assess pulmonary hypertension (PH), a new study shows.
The measurement, known as T2RV/LV, “represents a highly promising non-invasive biomarker for risk stratification, disease monitoring, and assessment of treatment response in PH,” the researchers wrote. They called for further research to determine whether the marker could be used to monitor PH over time.
New noninvasive marker shows promise in PH
The study, “Right Ventricular to Left Ventricular (RV/LV) Blood Pool T2 Ratio Is Associated With Invasive Hemodynamics Across Pulmonary Hypertension Subgroups,” was published in Pulmonary Circulation.
All types of PH are marked by elevated pressure in the blood vessels that carry blood from the heart to the lungs, putting strain on the heart. The gold standard for diagnosing PH is right heart catheterization (RHC), an invasive procedure in which a catheter is passed through a vein and the right side of the heart into the pulmonary artery to measure blood pressure and oxygen levels.
Because RHC is invasive, its use for routine follow-up is limited, which can make it harder to track how PH changes over time. Scientists are therefore looking for noninvasive measures that could provide some of the same information as RHC and make long-term monitoring easier.
In this study, researchers evaluated a noninvasive measurement called the right ventricle to left ventricle blood pool T2 ratio, or T2RV/LV. Using an MRI technique called T2 mapping, it compares T2 values in blood in the right ventricle, which pumps blood to the lungs, with those in the left ventricle, which pumps oxygen-rich blood to the body. Lower T2RV/LV values can reflect lower oxygen levels in the right-heart blood.
The scientists evaluated T2RV/LV values in 31 people with PH who had recently undergone RHC. The researchers used statistical analyses to look for associations between T2RV/LV and several RHC-based measurements.
T2RV/LV linked to key invasive PH measures
Specific RHC measurements included pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR), which assesses how difficult it is to pump blood to the lungs; mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP), a measure of the pressure in the lungs’ blood vessels; and pulmonary artery oxygen saturation (SvO2), which measures the oxygen level in blood in the pulmonary artery. The researchers’ analyses showed that T2RV/LV values were associated with all three measurements.
“In this study of 31 patients with PH who had an MRI performed within a short interval of RHC … we found that T2RV/LV correlated strongly with invasive [heart and lung circulation] parameters of PVR and mPAP and SvO2. As PVR and mPAP are major indicators of PH severity, [the result] shows the potential of T2RV/LV for diagnosis and prediction,” the researchers concluded.
T2RV/LV values were also significantly lower in PH patients compared with healthy controls. The scientists noted that the study included only a small number of patients and cautioned that the measure may not work equally well across all forms of PH, urging additional research to validate and expand upon the findings.
“These data suggest that T2RV/LV may emerge as a promising tool for improved diagnosis and management of PH patients. Larger prospective and serial studies are highly warranted to replicate these important findings and explore the serial role of T2RV/LV in clinical outcomes,” the team wrote.
Leave a comment
Fill in the required fields to post. Your email address will not be published.