Age Dependency of Myocardial Triglyceride Content: A 3T High-Field 1H-MR Spectroscopy Study

Purpose: The role of myocardial triglyceride (mTG) content in the aging human heart is not entirely understood. The aim of this study was to measure concentrations of mTG content from healthy volunteers and to determine the association between age, mTG content and systolic heart function. Furthermore, the technical stability of the 1 H-magnetic resonance spectroscopy ( 1 H-MRS) and the reliability of peak evaluation at 3 T were evaluated. Materials and Methods: The total study population of 47 healthy volunteers was divided into 4 age classes, according to the age of the subjects (1 st cohort 20 – 29 years (yrs.), n = 20; 2 nd cohort 30 – 39 yrs., n = 10; 3 rd cohort 40 – 49 yrs., n = 9; 4 th cohort 50 – 60 yrs., n = 8). Cardiac MRI and double triggered 1 H-MRS of the myocardium were consecutively performed using a 3 T scanner. Each participant underwent spectroscopic measurements twice in the same investigation. Results: mTG content increases with age. The correlation of age and mTG is minimal (r = 0.48; p  st cohort 0.25 % (± 0.17); 2 nd cohort 0.48 % (± 0.30); 3 rd cohort 0.48 % (± 0.18); 4 th cohort 0.77 % (± 0.70). There was no significant correlation (r = 0.04; p = n.s.) between LV mass and mTG content in healthy volunteers. Within our cohorts, no effects of age or mTG content on systolic heart function were seen (r = – 0.01; p = n.s.). The intraclass correlation coefficient of spectroscopic measurements was high (r = 0.965; p  Conclusion: Myocardial TG content increases with age. The normal age-dependent concentration ranges of myocardial lipid metabolites reported in this study may be helpful for the correction of acquired 1 H-MRS data in patients when evaluating metabolic and cardiovascular diseases in future magnetic resonance spectroscopy studies. Key Points: •  1 H-MRS enables noninvasive myocardial lipid determination • Double triggered 1 H-MRS of the heart at 3 T is a technically stable and reliable method • Myocardial triglyceride content increases with age • Myocardial triglyceride content is independent of LV mass and systolic function Citation Format: • Petritsch B, Gassenmaier T, Kunz AS et al. Age Dependency of Myocardial Triglyceride Content: A 3T High-Field 1 H-MR Spectroscopy Study. Fortschr Rontgenstr 2015; 187: 1016 – 1021