Cardiac Magnetic Resonance for Risk Stratification in Dilated Cardiomyopathy

Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is an increasingly recognized cause of morbidity and mortality with heterogenous etiologies (eg, genetic, environment) and clinical manifestations, characterized by left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction and LV or biventricular dilation. Previous publications reported the three-year treated mortality rates remain high at 12%-20% and a reported 5-year mortality rate up to 50%, with death resulting from ventricular arrhythmia leading to sudden cardiac death (SCD) or advanced heart failure (HF). With large fields of view and high spatial resolution, Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) is the reference standard for assessing cardiac mass, volume, and function. CMR also provides non noninvasive characterization of the myocardium benefiting to differential diagnosis and risk stratification.