Assessment of myocardial fibrosis and coronary arteries in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy using combined arterial and delayed enhanced CT: comparison with MR and coronary angiography.

Objectives: We sought to determine the feasibility and accuracy of dual-source computed tomography (DSCT) in assessing coronary artery disease and myocardial fibrosis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) compared with cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging and coronary angiography (CA).

Methods: Forty-seven consecutive patients with HCM were prospectively enrolled. DSCT images were acquired in the arterial and late phases following intravenous contrast medium. The CMR and CA were performed within 7 days. Independent blinded readers read each study. Patients were classified according to myocardial delayed enhanced (MDE) CMR, coronary artery stenosis by CA, and arterial and MDE-DSCT. The diagnostic accuracy of DSCT in detecting coronary stenosis and MDE was analysed.

Results: Wall thickness determined by DSCT was strongly correlated with MR results (r = 0.91). DSCT and CMR MDE showed substantial agreement for the detection of myocardial fibrosis on per-patient and per-segment levels. The CT classification of patients by arterial stenosis and delayed enhancement had excellent agreement with MR and CA methods.

Conclusions: The comprehensive cardiac CT examination provides reliable coronary artery and myocardial assessments. MDE-DSCT is a robust alternative method to MDE-CMR in assessing myocardial fibrosis in HCM particularly in patients with pacemakers or other contraindications to CMR.