Prognostic value of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging for idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension before initiating intravenous prostacyclin therapy

Background: Because few have reported the prognostic significance of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) for idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH), in this study we evaluated the value of CMR measurements as a prognostic predictor of IPAH before starting intravenous prostacyclin therapy. Methods and Results: A total of 121 consecutive CMR studies for evaluating right ventricular (RV) function were reviewed. Forty-one patients were diagnosed with IPAH and served as the study group. Factors, such as age, sex, New York Heart Association functional class (NYHAFC), 6-min walk test, plasma brain natriuretic peptide level, serum uric acid level and CMR measurements were analyzed as predictors of first hospitalization and death. The mean follow- up period was 1,350±769 days. Nine patients were hospitalized because of heart failure, and 4 patients died from cardiopulmonary causes. The univariate analyses suggested that the left ventricular (LV) mass index, the left and right ventricular end-diastolic volume indices (LVEDVI, RVEDVI), the LV and RV end-systolic volume indices (LVESVI, RVESVI) and NYHAFC predicted the risk for hospitalization and that RVEDVI, RVESVI and NYHAFC predicted mortality. The multivariate analyses suggested that RVEDVI and NYHAFC are independent predictors of both hospitalization and mortality. The effects of RVEDVI and NYHAFC on hospitalization were not substantially affected by the concomitant medication. Conclusions: In IPAH patients, the RVEDVI predicts both hospitalization for right heart failure and mortality before initiating intravenous prostacyclin therapy.