Barison, A

Abstract Background Myocardial feature-tracking (FT) strain from cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) has incremental prognostic value beyond traditional imaging biomarkers. Clinical use is limited by the absence of population-specific healthy reference ranges. This study provides age-, sex-, and ethnicity-specific reference ranges for CMR-derived FT strain from the Healthy Hearts Consortium (HHC). Methods The HHC is an international collaboration comprising CMR scans from 9,088 verified healthy adults across six centres, covering the entire adult age spectrum and with diverse ethnic background. Standardised CMR acquisition protocols were used. Image analysis was performed by two experienced readers following pre-specified standard operating procedures and using two commercially available software platforms (cvi42®, Circle Cardiovascular Imaging Inc.; suiteHEART®, Neosoft LLC). The following metrics were extracted: i) global FT strain metrics from both ventricles (longitudinal, circumferential, and radial) and both atria (longitudinal); ii) strain rate; iii) Mitral/Tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (MAPSE, TAPSE); iv) rapid strain (long-axis, junctional strain) from the left ventricle and both atria. Quality control included visual inspection of all images and the removal of biologically non-sensical values and extreme statistical outliers. Reference ranges were calculated by age group (deciles: 20-80 years), sex (male/female), and ethnicity (White, Black, Chinese, South Asian, Mixed/Other) using the 95% prediction interval method. Technical variations due to scanner vendor, software platform, and field strength (1.5T vs. 3.0T), were analysed. Results The study included 4,452 men (49%) and 4,636 women (51%). Ages ranged from 18 to 83 (mean 61±13) years. The sample included diverse ethnic backgrounds [White (81.7%), South Asian (5.6%), Mixed/Other (5.3%), Black (3.7%), and Chinese (3.7%)]. Women demonstrated significantly higher absolute strain values than men across. Absolute myocardial strain values were higher in younger age groups and lower in older age groups, most notably in left global circumferential and longitudinal strain. Ethnic differences in strain were most pronounced between White and Black as well as between White and Chinese individuals regarding left and right ventricular strain values, while left and right atrial strain values as well as rapid strain values, were similar across ethnic groups. Conclusion This study provides comprehensive, population-specific reference ranges for FT-CMR-derived myocardial strain, addressing a clinical knowledge gap. These findings inform clinical interpretation, improving diagnostic accuracy and risk stratification in different populations. This work represents a significant step towards a broader clinical implementation of myocardial strain analysis in routine cardiovascular care, ensuring more accurate classification of findings across varying demographic groups.

Abstract Introduction Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging enables precise, non-invasive assessment of cardiac structure and function, yet the clinical utility of CMR metrics is limited by the lack of comprehensive, population-specific reference values. By directly reanalyzing data from a large, multi-ethnic cohort rather than relying solely on pooled literature, could enable the establishment of standardized reference ranges and severity grading thresholds. Aim To provide comprehensive, age-, sex-, and ethnicity-stratified CMR reference ranges and severity grading thresholds for key ventricular and atrial parameters. Methods We analyzed over 9,000 CMR scans from the Healthy Hearts Consortium (HHC), comprising six international cohorts. All individuals were free from overt cardiovascular disease and major comorbidities, ensuring a verified healthy sample. Two automated segmentation software solutions—cvi42 (Circle Cardiovascular Imaging) and suiteHEART (Neosoft)—were used to quantify left and right ventricular volumes, myocardial mass, and atrial volumes in standard cine stacks. All endorsed segmentation modes were applied. Quality control protocol combined expert visual review and statistical outlier analysis. We derived 95% prediction intervals (PI) to define the normal range, with additional severity thresholds for mild (95–99.73% PI), moderate (99.73–99.99% PI), and severe (>99.99% PI) deviation from the reference range. Results The final dataset comprised of 9,059 verified healthy adults aged 18–83 years (mean 61 ± 13 years), with a near-equal sex distribution (51% women). Demographics included White (81.6%), South Asian (5.6%), Mixed/Other (5.3%), Black (3.8%), and Chinese (3.7%) participants. Results demonstrated that sex, age, and ethnicity strongly influenced cardiac indices. Men had higher indexed LV and RV volumes and greater myocardial mass than women. Black participants presented the highest indexed LV myocardial mass across age groups, whereas Chinese participants had comparatively lower myocardial mass values (Figure 1). In contrast, atrial volumes remained relatively stable across age categories. Comparative analysis showed minor differences between the two software tools, particularly for atrial parameters; however, derived ejection fractions remained consistent. We established age-, sex-, and ethnicity-stratified reference ranges for key CMR parameters. To facilitate clinical interpretation, we defined severity thresholds corresponding to mild, moderate, and severe abnormalities. Conclusion This large-scale, international effort addresses prior limitations in CMR interpretation by offering robust, contemporary reference ranges and severity grading applicable to diverse populations and imaging protocols. Our severity grading thresholds support consistency in clinical reporting and decision-making, enabling clearer identification of early subclinical changes and more accurate monitoring of disease progression.Subset of CMR value ranges in females