Rounder hearts predict future heart failure, a-fib

Not everyone’s heart is quite the same shape and its shape changes over time – but this could help predict who’s at risk for cardiomyopathy. A study in CellPress, where researchers analysed cardiac MRIs of over 30,000 people, found that variations in left ventricle sphericity in normal hearts predicted risk for cardiomyopathy and related outcomes. Researchers hypothesized that beyond size and function, the shape of hearts might carry extra details about heart health. To study this, they used data from a large biobank with cardiac imaging data to help analyze variation in cardiac morphology in normal populations. They noted “Cardiomyopathies of different etiologies often result in a similar end-stage phenotype of a more round, spherical ventricle. Among individuals with known cardiac disease, increased sphericity of the left ventricle (LV) has been associated with adverse outcomes, including ventricular arrhythmias and death.” It also stated that “within the spectrum of normal LV chamber size and systolic function, there exists variation in LV sphericity, and this variation may be a marker of cardiac risk with genetic underpinnings.” The researchers turned to artificial intelligence to help analyze 38,897 cardiac MRIs from the U.K. Biobank database. The cohort had undergone cardiac MRIs and had normal LV end-diastolic volume, normal LV end-systolic volume, and normal LV ejection fraction. The team looked at LV sphericity and whether it predicted incident cardiomyopathy as well as clinical manifestations such as atrial fibrillation, heart failure, and cardiac arrest. Other factors were taken into account such as body mass index, pulse rate, hypertension, diabetes, and prior myocardial infarction. “We found that individuals with spherical hearts were 31% more likely to develop atrial fibrillation and 24% more likely to develop cardiomyopathy,” said Dr. David Ouyang in a press release. He is coauthor of the study and a cardiologist at Cedars Sinai in California. Overall, “we show that a one standard deviation increase in sphericity index is associated with a 47% increased incidence of cardiomyopathy,” the paper said. There was no significant association with cardiac arrest. The paper noted that a heart’s shape changes over time, typically becomes rounder, and that a change in its shape could indicate an early sign of disease. In a genetic analysis, the researchers identified four genes associated with cardiomyopathy including one associated with a greater risk of developing atrial fibrillation.

Rounder hearts predict future heart failure, a-fib

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