Jan Skrok1, Monda L. Shehata1, Christopher Sibley2, Thomas Goldstein3, Kyle McCommis3, Jie Zheng3, Joao A. Lima2, David A. Bluemke4, Paul Hassoun5, Jens Vogel-Claussen1
1Department of Radiology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; 2Department of Cardiology, Johns Hopkins University, USA; 3Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St.Louis, MO, USA; 4Department of Radiology, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA; 5Department of Pulmonology, Johns Hopkins University, USA
Patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) are known to show cardiac remodeling. However, it is unknown whether myocardial blood flow under rest and adenosine-induced stress conditions is also affected. The purpose of our study was to compare left ventricular (LV) myocardial blood flow (MBF) and myocardial perfusion reserve (MPR) between patients with PAH and age matched healthy volunteers using adenosine stress 1st pass perfusion cardiac MRI. Results show that patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension have a globally reduced left ventricular myocardial perfusion reserve compared to normal age matched controls. These changes are likely caused by microvascular dysfunction in PAH patients.