Regional Left Ventricular Myocardial Dysfunction as a Predictor of Incident Cardiovascular Events MESA (Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis)

ObjectivesWe sought to examine the prognostic value of subclinical left ventricular (LV) regional myocardial dysfunction (RMD) measured by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) among asymptomatic individuals.BackgroundLV RMD, defined as segmental impairment in systolic wall thickening, predicts adverse events in patients with established cardiovascular disease. MRI is highly accurate for detecting subtle RMD, of which the prognostic significance in a large multiethnic asymptomatic population is not known.MethodsWe used MRI to evaluate baseline regional LV myocardial function and prospectively followed a multiethnic (African American, Caucasian, Chinese, and Hispanic) population-based sample of 4,510 men and women without cardiovascular disease for a mean of 4.6 years. Regional myocardial dysfunction was defined as the presence of impaired systolic wall thickening (