Interpreting cardiac MRI LGE patterns: a way out of the labyrinth

  • Unique Paper ID: 204731
  • Volume: 13
  • Issue: 1
  • PageNo: 3918-3924
  • Abstract:
  • Late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) in Cardiac Magnetic Resonance (CMR) imaging serves as the myocardial "scar map," utilizing gadolinium pooling in expanded interstitial space (fibrosis, necrosis, or infiltration) to achieve a diagnosis. The primary diagnostic distinction rests on separating ischemic LGE, which must involve the subendocardium and follow a coronary territory, from non-ischemic LGE, which typically spares the subendocardium or begins mid-wall/subepicardially. Core non-ischemic patterns include the mid-wall septal stripe (Dilated Cardiomyopathy), patchy subepicardial involvement (Myocarditis), and global subendocardial enhancement (Amyloidosis). Diagnosis is further refined by pattern-specific "kickers," such as the difficulty in nulling the myocardium in Amyloidosis (blood pool nulls before myocardium) or the patchy nodular lesions favoring the basal septum in Sarcoidosis. Advanced techniques like T1 mapping with Extracellular Volume (ECV) are essential for quantifying diffuse fibrosis (ECV >40% in Amyloid), while T2/STIR imaging helps determine injury chronicity (edema on T2/STIR suggests acute injury). Ultimately, the pattern's location and amount (e.g., >15% LV LGE in DCM/HCM) are crucial prognostic determinants related to outcomes like sudden cardiac death (SCD) risk.

Copyright & License

Copyright © 2026 Authors retain the copyright of this article. This article is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

BibTeX

@article{204731,
        author = {Dr. Sayantan Patra and Dr. Reetoja Das and Dr. Soumya Suvra Patra},
        title = {Interpreting cardiac MRI LGE patterns: a way out of the labyrinth},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2026},
        volume = {13},
        number = {1},
        pages = {3918-3924},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=204731},
        abstract = {Late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) in Cardiac Magnetic Resonance (CMR) imaging serves as the myocardial "scar map," utilizing gadolinium pooling in expanded interstitial space (fibrosis, necrosis, or infiltration) to achieve a diagnosis. The primary diagnostic distinction rests on separating ischemic LGE, which must involve the subendocardium and follow a coronary territory, from non-ischemic LGE, which typically spares the subendocardium or begins mid-wall/subepicardially. Core non-ischemic patterns include the mid-wall septal stripe (Dilated Cardiomyopathy), patchy subepicardial involvement (Myocarditis), and global subendocardial enhancement (Amyloidosis). Diagnosis is further refined by pattern-specific "kickers," such as the difficulty in nulling the myocardium in Amyloidosis (blood pool nulls before myocardium) or the patchy nodular lesions favoring the basal septum in Sarcoidosis. Advanced techniques like T1 mapping with Extracellular Volume (ECV) are essential for quantifying diffuse fibrosis (ECV >40% in Amyloid), while T2/STIR imaging helps determine injury chronicity (edema on T2/STIR suggests acute injury). Ultimately, the pattern's location and amount (e.g., >15% LV LGE in DCM/HCM) are crucial prognostic determinants related to outcomes like sudden cardiac death (SCD) risk.},
        keywords = {Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Late Gadolinium Enhancement; Cardiac Magnetic Resonance; Myocardial Fibrosis; T1 Mapping; T2 Mapping; Extracellular Volume Fraction; Myocardial Infarction; Myocarditis; Amyloidosis; Sarcoidosis; Fabry Disease; Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy; Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy; Dilated Cardiomyopathy; Myocardial Perfusion Imaging; Tissue Characterization; Prognosis.},
        month = {June},
        }

Cite This Article

Patra, D. S., & Das, D. R., & Patra, D. S. S. (2026). Interpreting cardiac MRI LGE patterns: a way out of the labyrinth. International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology (IJIRT), 13(1), 3918–3924.

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