2026 Volume 90 Issue 2 Pages 217-227
Background: Cardiac computed tomography (CCT) not only evaluates coronary artery disease but also characterizes myocardial features through late iodine enhancement (LIE). This study evaluated the clinical characteristics and prognostic significance of incidentally detected non-ischemic LIE patterns in patients undergoing CCT for coronary artery evaluation.
Methods and Results: We retrospectively analyzed 465 patients who underwent CCT between January 2020 and December 2021. The primary outcome was all-cause death, and the secondary outcome was cardiovascular events, defined as cardiac death and unplanned cardiovascular hospitalization. Cox hazard analysis was performed to identify parameters significantly associated with the outcomes. After excluding patients with non-ischemic cardiomyopathy diagnosed before and after undergoing CCT, coronary stenosis and previous revascularization, 57 patients had non-ischemic LIE and 408 showed no LIE. Compared with patients without LIE, non-ischemic LIE was significantly associated with increased high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T and B-type natriuretic peptide levels, left ventricular (LV) diastolic diameter, LV thickness, and impaired LV ejection fraction. The cumulative incidence of cardiovascular events was significantly higher in patients with non-ischemic LIE than in those without LIE (log-rank P=0.024). In the Cox multivariable analysis, non-ischemic LIE was associated with cardiovascular events (hazard ratio 7.01; 95% confidence interval 1.09–42.2; P=0.041).
Conclusions: CCT may provide prognostic significance through the assessment of myocardial properties.
