Myocardial T2 Mapping in Patients With Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of T2 mapping for detecting myocardial injuries in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). Twenty-one HCM patients and 7 healthy volunteers were examined. The T2 values were measured at hyperintense areas (high-T2 areas) identified with T2 mapping, at late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) areas, and in nullified myocardium of the HCM patients. The associations between T2 values and laboratory data or LGE areas were assessed. High-T2 areas had significantly greater T2 values than LGE areas (P < 0.05) and nullified areas (P < 0.01) of HCM and normal myocardium (P < 0.01). The presence of high-T2 areas was associated with an increase in troponin T levels (P = 0.02), and T2 values correlated with the levels of brain natriuretic peptide (P = 0.036, r = 0.86). T2 mapping identified myocardial injuries suggested by the laboratory data in HCM.