Evaluation of non-dilated left ventricular cardiomyopathy patients with reduced and preserved left ventricular ejection fraction using cardiac magnetic resonance feature tracking technology

To investigate the diagnostic value of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging feature tracking (CMR-FT) in evaluating patients with non-dilated left ventricular cardiomyopathy (NDLVC) and either reduced or preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). This retrospective study enrolled 60 patients with NDLVC, including 30 with reduced LVEF (NDLVC-rLVEF, LVEF < 50%) and 30 with preserved LVEF (NDLVC-pLVEF, LVEF ≥ 50%), along with 30 healthy controls. Using the CVI42 post-processing software, conventional left ventricular functional parameters and 2D/3D global strain parameters were obtained, including global radial strain (GRS), global circumferential strain (GCS), and global longitudinal strain (GLS). Group differences in these parameters were analyzed. The diagnostic efficacy of strain parameters in NDLVC patients with reduced LVEF was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. (1) Compared to the NDLVC-pLVEF group, the NDLVC-rLVEF group was older (P < 0.05) and had a higher prevalence of hyperlipidemia and alcohol consumption history. (2) Compared to the control group, the NDLVC-pLVEF group showed a significant increase in LV mass at ED (P < 0.05). Compared to the NDLVC-pLVEF group, the NDLVC-rLVEF group exhibited significantly increased left ventricular end-systolic volume (LVESV) and LV mass at ED (P < 0.05), while left ventricular stroke volume (LVSV), left ventricular cardiac output (LVCO), left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), absolute values of GRS (2D/3D), GCS (2D/3D), GLS (2D/3D) were significantly reduced (P < 0.05). (3) ROC curve analysis revealed that the AUC values for GRS (2D), GCS (2D), GLS (2D), GRS (3D), GCS (3D), and GLS (3D) in distinguishing the NDLVC-rLVEF group from NDLVC-pLVEF group were 0.980, 0.974, 0.941, 0.908, 0.981, and 0.843, respectively. CMR-FT technique demonstrates significant diagnostic value in differentiating NDLVC patients with both reduced and preserved LVEF. Both 2D and 3D strain parameters exhibit high diagnostic efficacy.