CMR protocol
All CMR examinations were performed on a 3T MR scanner (MAGNETOM Skyra,
Siemens Healthcare, Erlangen, Germany) with a 18-channel phased-array
body coil at the anterior combined with the spine coil at the posterior.
All images were acquired under the electrocardiogram (ECG)-gated
breath-hold condition. All patients were scanned with the same protocol.
The protocol consisted of stacks of balanced steady-state
free-precession (b-SSFP) cine images acquired in the three long-axis
(two-, three-, and four-chamber) views and consecutive short-axis views
covering the left ventricle from base to apex (TR/TE 3.4 ms /1.3 ms,
flip angle 50°, FOV 300 × 340 mm2, matrix size 256 ×
144, slice thickness 8 mm with a 2-mm gap, average temporal resolution
44.8 ms, scan time 14-22 heart beats per slice). LGE images were
acquired using a segmented T1-weighted phase-sensitive inversion
recovery (PSIR) SSFP sequence 10 to 15 min after bolus contrast
injection (gadolinium-DTPA, 0.2 mmol/kg, Magnevist, Schering, Berlin,
Germany) in the same planes as the short-axis cine images. Consecutive
body-axial LGE images, covering the whole heart from the pulmonary
bifurcation to just below the diaphragm, were also obtained.