Scar characteristics derived from two- and three-dimensional reconstructions of cardiac contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance images: Relationship to ventricular tachycardia inducibility and ablation success.

Background: The relationship between cardiac contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (CE-MRI)-derived scar characteristics and substrate for ventricular tachycardia (VT) in patients with structural heart disease (SHD) has not been fully investigated.

Methods: This study included 51 patients (mean age, 63.3±15.1 years) who underwent CE-MRI with SHD and VT induction testing before ablation. Late gadolinium-enhanced (LGE) regions on MRI slices were quantified by thresholding techniques. Signal intensities (SIs) 2-6 SDs above the mean SI of the remote left ventricular (LV) myocardium were considered as scar border zones, and SI>6 SDs, as scar zone, and the scar characteristics related to VT inducibility and successful ablation via endocardial approaches were evaluated.

Results: The proportion of the total CE-MRI-derived scar border zone in the inducible VT group was significantly greater than that in the non-inducible VT group (26.3±9.9% vs. 19.2±7.8%, respectively, =0.0323). The LV endocardial scar zone to total LV myocardial scar zone ratio in patients whose ablation was successful was significantly greater than that in those whose ablation was unsuccessful (0.61±0.11 vs. 0.48±0.12, respectively, =0.0042). Most successful ablation sites were located adjacent to CE-MRI-derived scar border zones.

Conclusions: By CE-MRI, we were able to characterize not only the scar, but also its location and heterogeneity, and those features seemed to be related to VT inducibility and successful ablation from an endocardial site.