MRI scans could replace invasive heart tests, as new research shows they can reliably estimate pressures inside the heart to predict if a patient will develop heart failure. The research from the University of East Anglia (UEA) and Queen Mary University of London also identified key risk factors for increased pressure inside the heart, which leads to heart failure. These risk factors include being over 70, having high blood pressure, being obese, alcohol consumption and being male.
Heart failure is a lethal condition resulting from rising pressures. One of the most significant findings of this study is that MRI-derived pressure measurements can reliably predict if an individual will develop heart failure. This breakthrough suggests that heart MRI could potentially replace invasive diagnostic tests.
Participants with higher heart pressure measured by MRI had a fivefold increased risk of developing heart failure over six years." Dr. Pankaj Garg, co-lead author from UEA's Norwich Medical School Previous pioneering research involving UEA, and the universities of Sheffield and Leeds has shown that heart MRI techniques can estimate pressure in the heart and are linked to symptoms and signs of heart failure.
However, to date it remained unknown if heart MRI derived pressures can predict heart failure risk in a general population. Analysing data from more than 39,000 UK Biobank participants, this latest research demonstrates that MRI-detected pressure changes can identify heart failu.