Purpose: This study sought to differentiate diagnosis and prognoses of non-coronary arterial primary myocardial diseases with focal left ventricular myocardial (LVM) thinning evaluated by multislice-CT. Based on the presence of fibro-fatty change and asynergy in LVM, we sought to understand the clinical significance of detection of non-coronary arterial focal LVM thinning.
Materials-and-methods: 766 consecutive subjects (419--male, 59±18 years) underwent enhanced ECG-gated multislice-CT. 12 subjects (8 male, mean age 58 years) with non-coronary arterial primary diseases and evidence of focal LVM thinning were selected. Non-coronary arterial primary diseases exhibiting focal LVM thinning were defined as follows: In comparison with the adjoining reference normal area, focal LVM thinning in end-diastole was less than half that of the adjoining reference normal area.
Results: On transthoracic echocardiography, LV sizes of the 12 subjects tended to be slightly enlarged and the mean LV ejection fraction (46.8%) was slightly below the normal range. There are many non-coronary arterial primary diseases which exhibit focal LVM thinning. In this study, we constructed a differential flowchart in which estimation of final diagnosis, treatment and prognosis for such subjects can usefully be based on the presence of fibro-fatty change and asynergy in thinned LVM sites by MSCT. Detection of the presence of fibro-fatty change and asynergy in thinned LVM sites may indicate the need for implantation of implantable cardioverter defibrillator or cardiac pacemakers.
Conclusion: A differential flowchart for those subjects using the presence of fibro-fatty change and asynergy in thinned LVM sites by MSCT may be useful to differentiate prognoses of such subjects.
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