Inflammatory Cardiomyopathy Bern Registry

Plain-language summary

Inflammatory cardiomyopathies are associated with inflammation and impaired function of the heart muscle and encompass myo- and pericarditis and cardiac sarcoidosis. Due to the heterogeneity of the clinical manifestations, establishing the diagnosis and prediction of outcome is challenging. Specifically for myocarditis, it is associated with acute and chronic heart failure and sudden cardiac death. Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) allows imaging of tissue characteristics (i.e. edema and fibrosis). CMR is the primary diagnostic tool in myocarditis and can also be used for differentiating other inflammatory diseases. Beside the presence of edema, also hyperemia/capillary leak, fibrosis and myocardial function can be assessed and quantified. Previous studies demonstrated the prognostic role of CMR features beyond traditional markers of LV function, but are limited to smaller cohorts and single-center studies. Furthermore, CMR is a rapidly developing modality and as new features of the modality become available, additional research is needed to identify which combination of parameters optimize risk stratification of this heterogenous inflammatory cardiomyopathy. Hence, the goal of the registry is to investigate the diagnostic and prognostic role of clinical techniques in inflammatory cardiomyopathies, particularly CMR, and which combination of features provide the highest potential. This analysis will include new advanced CMR techniques but will also assess the role of other techniques that may be more cost-efficient and more widely available, which could be used as a precursor to CMR imaging exams.

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