Cardiac function by magnetic resonance imaging in coronary artery occlusions after Kawasaki disease

Background: To clarify ventricular function in patients with asymptomatic coronary artery occlusion (ACAO) after Kawasaki disease (KD). Methods and Results: We enrolled 65 patients with coronary artery lesions who had undergone cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR). Median age at CMR was 29 years. CMR was performed to evaluate only the transmural extent of late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) and ejection fraction (EF). Based on the depth of LGE, it was classified into 5 groups: 0% (G0), 1–25% (G1), 26–50% (G2), 51–75% (G3), and 76–100% (G4). We investigated the relationship of the degree of LGE and EF. Further, we also evaluated the EF among 3 groups [ACAO, myocardial infarction (MI), and noncoronary artery occlusion (Non-CO)]. The grade of LGE and the LVEF (mean ± SD, %) were as follows: G0 (n=24, 52.6±4.8), G1 (n=13, 50.8±4.4), G2 (n=15, 49.1±5.6), G3 (n=9, 30.9±9.1), and G4 (n=9, 27.7±6.8). LVEF in patients with G3 and G4 was significantly low (P<0.05). LVEF (%) in patients with ACAO, MI, and Non-CO were 50.5±4.8 (n=38), 33.6±10.8 (n=17), and 53.0±5.7 (n=10), respectively. LVEF in the MI group was significantly low (P<0.0001). Conclusions: LGE >50% can lead to LV dysfunction. The transmural extent of LGE in most of the study patients with ACAO was ≤50% and they had subendocardial infarction, with preserved LV function.