Late Gadolinium Enhancement Predicts Improvement in Global Longitudinal Strain after Aortic Valve Replacement in Aortic Stenosis

Myocardial fibrosis, as detected by late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), is related to mortality after aortic valve replacement (AVR). This study aimed to determine whether LGEMRI predicts improvement in global longitudinal strain (GLS) after AVR in patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS). Twenty-nine patients with severe AS who were scheduled to undergo AVR were enrolled. Two-dimensional echocardiography and contrast-enhanced MRI were performed before AVR. GLS and LGEcore (g: > 5 SD of normal area), LGEgray (g: 2–5 SD), and LGEcore+gray (g) were measured. One year after AVR, GLS were examined by echocardiography to assess improvement in LV function. Preoperatively, GLS correlated with LGEcore (g) (r(2) = 0.14, p < 0.05), LGEgray (g) (r(2) = 0.32, p < 0.01) and LGEcore+gray (g) (r(2) = 0.36, p < 0.01). LGEcore was significantly lower in patients with improved GLS after AVR (GLS(1year) ≥ −19.9%) compared to those with no improvement (1.34 g vs. 4.70 g, p < 0.01). LGE predicts improvement in LV systolic function after AVR.