Reference ranges for cardiac magnetic resonance imaging parameters in young adults after COVID-19 and / or Vaccination against SARS-CoV-2

Introduction. The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the need for reliable diagnostic criteria to assess myocardial status in individuals who have recovered from the infection or undergone vaccination. The lack of standardized reference values for cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) parameters in the young population limits the accurate interpretation of detected changes.

Aim: To establish reference values for myocardial morpho-functional parameters using multiparametric cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in young individuals who have had COVID-19 and/or were vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2.

Material and Methods. A single-center cross-sectional study included 28 volunteers (18-29 years old) without cardiac pathology. All participants underwent multiparametric cardiac MRI on a 1.5 T scanner, followed by quantitative assessment of morpho-functional parameters and myocardial deformation indices using Medis Suite software version 3.0.18.10. Preliminary, the assessment of interobserver agreement using variation coefficient and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) were carried out.

Results. The highest agreement was observed for global longitudinal strain (ICC = 0.91) and end-diastolic volume (ICC = 0.89), while global radial strain demonstrated the greatest variability (ICC = 0.72). Ejection fraction showed the lowest coefficient of variation (8.9%), confirming its reliability as a primary functional parameter. Reference values for cardiac MRI parameters were established for the young population with percentile interval.

Conclusion. The obtained assessment of methodological consistency provides a basis for a standardized approach to interpreting cardiac MRI data in young patients. The developed set of reference values can serve as a benchmark for identifying deviations associated with inflammatory changes, not only resulting from past COVID-19 and vaccination, but other etiological factors.

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