Quantification of diffuse myocardial fibrosis in patients with resistant hypertension undergoing renal denervation versus hypertensive controls - preliminary results

Background Renal Denervation (RDN) is a novel therapy for patients with resistant hypertension. Its cardiac effects at followup are currently unknown. On the other hand, T1 mapping permits the assessment of myocardial extracellular volume (ECV), a parameter proposed to quantify diffuse myocardial fibrosis and independently associated with mortality and hard cardiovascular events. Our aim was to study the effects of RDN on ECV at 6-month follow-up. Methods 14 patients with resistant hypertension undergoing RD (RD group) and 4 resistant hypertensive patients not undergoing RD (control group) were prospectively included. A 1.5T cardiac MR including T1 mapping preand post-contrast was performed before the RD procedure and at 6-month follow-up in both groups. Blood hematocrit was determined at both time points. Images were post-processed using commercial software (Qmass, Medis