Stress Cardiac MRI in Ischemic Patients

Assessment of Myocardial Viability by Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Feature Tracking at Rest and During Stress by Low Dose Dobutamine

The aim of this study is to assess the diagnostic accuracy of CMR feature-tracking (FT) at rest & during stress with low dose dobutamine (LDD) in the evaluation of viability in ischemic cardiomyopathy (ICM) patients and compare it with delayed gadolinium enhancement (DGE).

Inclusion Criteria:

• All patients recruited into the study have chronic LV systolic dysfunction due to coronary artery disease (CAD)

Exclusion Criteria:

• All patients with a contraindication to MR study:

  • Patients with implanted non-MRI compatible electronic devices (e.g. Cardiac pacemakers, intracranial metallic clips, implanted hearing aids, etc.)
  • Patients with foreign bodies in the eye.
  • Claustrophobic patients.

• Patients diagnosed with recent acute coronary syndrome within 4 weeks.

• Patients who had contraindications for MRI or contrast agents, and those with poor image quality due to either inadequate breath holding or arrhythmias