Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42418763›Full record

ArticleJournal of cardiovascular electrophysiology2026

Atrial Fibrosis Imaging: Correlation of Late Gadolinium Enhancement Magnetic Resonance Imaging With High-Definition Voltage Electroanatomical Mapping Across Different Thresholds.

Theodoros Efremidis, Eva Nyktari, Ourania Kariki, Konstantinos Pamporis, Athanasios Saplaouras, Panagiotis Mililis, Stavroula Koskina, Stylianos Dragasis, Ignatios Ikonomidis, Konstantinos P Letsas and 1 more

Abstract readComparative Study
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of cardiovascular electrophysiology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Theodoros EfremidisArrhythmia Unit, Onassis Hospital, Athens, Greece.
Eva NyktariCMR Unit, Onassis Hospital, Athens, Greece.
Ourania KarikiArrhythmia Unit, Onassis Hospital, Athens, Greece.ORCID 0009-0008-9162-6039
Konstantinos PamporisDepartment of Hygiene, Social-Preventive Medicine & Medical Statistics, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.ORCID 0000-0001-5411-6461
Athanasios SaplaourasArrhythmia Unit, Onassis Hospital, Athens, Greece.
Panagiotis MililisArrhythmia Unit, Onassis Hospital, Athens, Greece.
Stavroula KoskinaArrhythmia Unit, Onassis Hospital, Athens, Greece.
Stylianos DragasisArrhythmia Unit, Onassis Hospital, Athens, Greece.
Ignatios Ikonomidis2nd Department of Cardiology, School of Medicine University General Hospital "Attikon", National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece.ORCID 0000-0001-8241-7886
Konstantinos P LetsasArrhythmia Unit, Onassis Hospital, Athens, Greece.
Michael EfremidisArrhythmia Unit, Onassis Hospital, Athens, Greece.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionAtrial fibrosis is an adverse factor for arrhythmia recurrences and thromboembolic events in atrial fibrillation (AF). Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMRi) has emerged as a noninvasive tool for its assessment, though evidence remains conflicting. METHODS AND

resultsSixty ablation-naïve patients with AF scheduled for first-time catheter ablation were enrolled (78% men, 67% paroxysmal AF, 73% heart failure reduced ejection fraction [HFrEF]). Prior to the procedure, CMRi was performed in sinus rhythm (SR) on a 1.5T system using a high-resolution (1.3 mm isotropic) free-breathing 3D LGE sequence with echo-navigator end-expiratory gating and whole-heart coverage. Left atrium (LA) fibrosis was quantified using the commercially available ADAS 3D software, with fibrosis defined at four image intensity ratios (IIR) thresholds (0.97, 1.2, 1.32, and 1.61 times mean blood-pool signal intensity). High-density electroanatomical mapping (EAM) was performed in SR, and low-voltage substrates (LVS) were quantified at three bipolar voltage thresholds (0.5, 0.25, and 0.1 mV). LVS-EAM were identified in 97%, 88%, and 45% of patients at 0.5, 0.25, and 0.1 mV, respectively. LGE-CMRi was detected in 100%, 97%, 63%, and 17% of patients at IIR thresholds of 0.97, 1.2, 1.32, and 1.61, respectively. Quantitative correlation between CMR- and EAM-derived fibrosis was negligible to weak across all threshold combinations. When fibrosis was analyzed dichotomously, agreement was highest between EAM 0.5 mV and CMR IIR 0.97 (0.97, 95% CI [0.92, 1.00]; p < 0.001) and IIR 1.2 (1, 95% CI [1.00, 1.00]; p < 0.001), and between EAM 0.25 mV and CMR IIR 0.97 (0.87 95% CI [0.76, 0.97]; p < 0.001) and IIR 1.2 (0.9, 95% CI [0.81, 0.99]; p < 0.001).

conclusionsIn an ablation-naïve AF population with a predominance of HFrEF patients, CMR- and EAM-derived measures of atrial fibrosis showed poor quantitative correlation across multiple threshold combinations. Although agreement improved when fibrosis was analyzed dichotomously (presence vs. absence of fibrosis), the highest agreement was observed at the most sensitive threshold combinations. The findings of our study highlight the need for standardized, validated, and reproducible CMR protocols for native atrial fibrosis assessment in order to provide a noninvasive alternative to EAM.

Indexed as

Atrial FibrillationAtrial RemodelingContrast MediaElectrophysiologic Techniques, CardiacHeart AtriaMagnetic Resonance ImagingMagnetic Resonance Imaging, CineOrganometallic CompoundsAction PotentialsAgedCatheter AblationFemaleFibrosisHeart RateHumansMaleContrast MediaOrganometallic Compoundsatrial fibrillationatrial fibrosiscardiac magnetic resonanceelectroanatomical mapping

Identifiers

PMID42418763
PMCPMC13576551

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.