Ricerc@Sapienza

Cardiac remodeling following acute myocardial infarction (MI) has been widely described. The single best predictor of adverse left ventricular remodeling (LVr) is infarct size (IS) determined by cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR). Recent developments in cardiac fluid-dynamics imaging have heightened the interest about hemodynamic forces (HDFs) patterns associated with cardi-ac adaptations. Evidences connecting fluid dynamics, embryological heart development and cardiac remodeling following pathological event or therapeutic interventions increased in last years.
In our study we aim to evaluate HDFs and their influence on post-infarction LVr in a cohort of patients with reperfused ST-segment elevation MI (STEMI) using a novel technique based on endocardial borders tracking of steady-state free-precession cine CMR datasets. Both hemodynamic forces directed along the "apex-to-base" (A-B, longitudinal) and "latero-septal" (L-S, horizontal) LV axis will be estimated. L-S/A-B HDFs ratio, computed as the ratio between L-S HDFs and A-B HDFs, will be calculated to assess the relative distribution of the hemodynamic force directions in the LV. Correlations with L-S/A-B HDFs ratio and the relative increase in LVESV at 4 months¿ follow-up will be evaluated.