Relationship between expansion of the myocardial interstitial space and ventricular performance in patients with pulmonary hypertension

Background Diffuse interstitial fibrosis is a common end point in heart failure from multiple etiologies. The post contrast T1 time, extracellular volume (ECV) and partition coefficient (l) of gadolinium-based contrast media have been used to estimate expansion of myocardial interstitial space, as a surrogate of interstitial fibrosis. The aim of the study was to explore the relationship between T1-based estimates of interstitial expansion and both right (RV) and left (LV) ventricular functional parameters in pulmonary hypertension (PH).