Associations and prognostic significance of diffuse myocardial fibrosis by cardiovascular magnetic resonance in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction

Abstract Background Increased myocardial fibrosis may play a key role in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) pathophysiology. The study aim was to evaluate the presence, associations, and prognostic significance of diffuse fibrosis in HFpEF patients compared to age- and sex-matched controls. Methods We prospectively included 118 consecutive HFpEF patients. Diffuse myocardial fibrosis was estimated by extracellular volume (ECV) quantified by cardiovascular magnetic resonance with the modified Look-Locker inversion recovery sequence. We determined an ECV age- and sex-adjusted cutoff value (33%) in 26 controls. Results Mean ECV was significantly higher in HFpEF patients versus healthy controls (32.9 ± 4.8% vs 28.2 ± 2.4%, P 33% demonstrating significant prediction of risk and validated this score in a validation cohort of 53 patients. Kaplan–Meier curves showed a significant difference according to tertiles of the probability score (P