Late gadolinium enhancement pattern is not associated with ventricular arrhythmia event in non-ischemic cardiomyopathy

Arrhythmia is a leading cause of sudden cardiac arrest and a major cause of mortality in non-ischemic cardiomyopathy (NICM). The late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) pattern reveals myocardial fibrosis as an arrhythmogenic focus in cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging. This study aims to analyze the association between LGE patterns and baseline characteristics of subjects with the incidence of ventricular arrhythmias (VA) in NICM. Using a cross-sectional approach, this study is an analytical observational study involving 105 eligible outpatient patients from the cardiovascular clinic at RSUP Dr. Hasan Sadikin, Bandung. The researchers conducted bivariate analysis with Unpaired T-Test, Chi-Square, and Mann-Whitney tests using the Statistical Program for Social Science (SPSS) software. Ventricular arrhythmias occurred in 50.5% of subjects with NICM. The most common LGE patterns were mid-wall (52.4%), patchy (25.7%), and subepicardial (22.9%). The primary outcome of the study indicated no association between various LGE patterns and the incidence of VA in patients with NICM (p>0.05). The secondary outcomes revealed an association between age (p=0.006) and older female patients (p=0.043) with the incidence of VA in NICM. There is no association between LGE patterns and the incidence of VA in NICM; however, age has a significant relationship with the occurrence of these arrhythmias.