Figure 1

Fibrotic Distribution and Extent. (a) Examples illustrating myocardial T1 values and LGE characteristics in cases of abnormalities in H-LVH and HCM patients. Higher global native T1 values (yellow in cardiomyopathies, green in controls) and lower post-contrast T1 values (blue-purple in cardiomyopathies, light blue in controls) were seen in patients with H-LVH and HCM than in controls. Note the reddish colour on the native T1 and the blue-purple dots on the post-T1 images diffusively distributed in H-LVH patients (hollow arrows) compared to the much denser but concentrated foci in HCM patients; in HCM patients, the dense concentrated foci enabled the hyperenhancement that is visibly present with the conventional LGE technique (blue arrows). The same ECV (28%) was calculated for the H-LVH and HCM groups, which was higher than that of the control group (23%). (b–c) Presence and percentage of LGE. LGE was present in 84% of the patients with HCM and the interquartile range of the scar size was 2.2–15.1%. Conversely, only 34% of the H-LVH patients were LGE-positive, and the scar size ranged from 0–0.9%. ECV = extracellular volume; HCM = hypertrophic cardiomyopathy; H-LVH = hypertension-induced left ventricular hypertrophy; LGE = late gadolinium enhancement.