Heart failure & cardiomyopathies
Diffusion Tensor CMR Assessment of the Microstructural Response to Dobutamine Stress in Health and Comparison With Patients With Recovered Dilated Cardiomyopathy
Authors' conclusion
In health, sheetlet mobility moves further toward the wall-perpendicular plane to drive increased contractility, rather than increased magnitude of sheetlet mobility. Despite clinical recovery in patients with rDCM, microstructural function at rest and during dobutamine remains impaired.
Study context
- Population
- Healthy volunteers and patients with recovered dilated cardiomyopathy undergoing diffusion tensor CMR at rest, during dobutamine and on recovery
- Participants
- 32 vs 20
- Exposure
- Patients with recovered dilated cardiomyopathy (rDCM) vs healthy volunteers, microstructural response to dobutamine stress
- rDCMn = 32
- Healthy volunteersn = 20reference
- Outcome
- Microstructural response to dobutamine stress (diffusion tensor CMR)
Methodological detailsfirst-of-its-kind
- First-of-its-kind
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
- Healthy volunteers: diastolic E2A, rest to dobutamine 13±3° to 17±5°
- P<0.001
- Healthy volunteers: systolic E2A, rest to dobutamine 59±11° to 65±7°
- P=0.002
- Healthy volunteers: sheetlet mobility unchanged, 45±11° to 49±10°
- P=0.19
- Healthy volunteers: biphasic mean E2A, 36±6° to 41±4°
- P<0.001
- rDCM: diastolic E2A, rest to dobutamine 20±8° to 24±10°
- P=0.001
- rDCM: systolic E2A, rest to dobutamine 54±13° to 63±11°
- P=0.005
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Diastolic E2A at rest
P < 0.001
Sheetlet mobility at rest · reduced in rDCM
P < 0.001
Mean, °
| Outcome | Healthy volunteers | rDCM | P value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sheetlet mobility during dobutamine · dobutamine stressFailed to increase to healthy levels | 49 (SD 10) | 39 (SD 13) | P = 0.005 |
Original publication
Diffusion Tensor CMR Assessment of the Microstructural Response to Dobutamine Stress in Health and Comparison With Patients With Recovered Dilated Cardiomyopathy. Circ Cardiovasc Imaging. Published 12 December 2025. doi:10.
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