A Feasibility Study: MR Elastography as a Method to Compare Stiffness Estimates in Hypertrophic Obstructive Cardiomyopathy & in Normal Volunteers

Arunark Kolipaka¹, Kiaran McGee¹, Shivani Aggarwal¹, Nandan Anavekar¹, Armando Manduca¹, Richard Ehman¹, Philip Araoz¹

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HOCM) is a genetic cardiac disease and is thought to increase myocardial stiffness. Recently, MR elastography (MRE) has been adapted to measure stiffness in the myocardium. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the feasibility of using MRE to identify changes in the stiffness of LV in HOCMs when compared to normals. MRE was performed on 18 normal volunteers and 2 HOCM patients. During end-systole an increased stiffness with a mean value of 14.5 kPa was found as compared to normals with a mean value of 5.6 kPa.