Abstract

BACKGROUND: Active inflammatory bowel disease (A-IBD) but not remission (R-IBD) has been associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular death and hospitalization for heart failure. OBJECTIVES: Using cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR), this study aims to assess adverse myocardial remodeling in patients with IBD in correlation with disease activity. METHODS: Forty-four IBD patients without cardiovascular disease (24 female, median-age: 39.5 years, 26 A-IBD, 18 R-IBD) and 44 matched healthy volunteers (HV) were prospectively enrolled. The disease stage was determined by endoscopic and patient-reported criteria. Participants underwent CMR for cardiac phenotyping: cine imaging and strain analysis were performed to assess ventricular function. T1 mapping, extracellular volume and late-gadolinium enhanced images were obtained to assess focal and diffuse myocardial fibrosis. Simultaneous T1 and T2 elevation (T1?>?1049.3 ms, T2?>?54 ms) was considered to indicate a myocardial segment was inflamed. RESULTS: 16/44 (16.4%) IBD patients described dyspnea on exertion and 10/44 (22.7%) reported chest pain. A-IBD patients showed impaired ventricular function, indicated by reduced global circumferential and radial strain despite preserved left-ventricular ejection fraction. 16% of all IBD patients had focal fibrosis in a non-ischemic pattern. A-IDB patients had increased markers of diffuse left ventricular fibrosis (T1-values: A-IBD: 1022.0?±?34.83 ms, R-IBD: 1010.10?±?32.88 ms, HV: 990.61?±?29.35 ms, p?