• Linda Pagura, Aldostefano Porcari, Matteo Cameli, Elena Biagini, Marco Canepa, Lia Crotti, Massimo Imazio, Cinzia Forleo, Rita Pavasini, Giuseppe Limongelli, Stefano Perlini, Marco Metra, Giuseppe Boriani, Michele Emdin, Gianfranco Sinagra, Marco Merlo, and ACTIVE study group.
• Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Cardiomyopathies, Cardiovascular Department, Azienda Sanitaria Universitaria Giuliano-Isontina (ASUGI) and University of Trieste, Via P. Valdoni 7, Trieste 34100, Italy; Cardiac Surgery, Cardiovascular Department, Azienda Sanitaria Universitaria Giuliano-Isontina (ASUGI), Trieste, Italy.
• Eur. J. Intern. Med. 2024 Apr 1; 122: 687768-77.

Background And AimsThe discordance between QRS voltages on electrocardiogram (ECG) and left ventricle (LV) wall thickness (LVWT) on echocardiogram (echo) is a recognized red flag (RF) of amyloid cardiomyopathy (AC) and can be measured by specific indexes. No head-to-head comparison of different ECG/echo indexes among subjects with echocardiographic suspicion of AC has yet been undertaken. The study aimed at evaluating the performance and the incremental diagnostic value of different ECG/echo indexes in this subset of patients.MethodsElectrocardiograms of subjects with LV hypertrophy, preserved ejection fraction and ≥ 1 echocardiographic RF of AC participating in the AC-TIVE study, an Italian prospective multicenter study, were independently analyzed by two cardiologists. Low QRS voltages and 8 different ECG/echo indexes were evaluated. Cohort specific cut-offs were computed.ResultsAmong 170 patients, 55 (32 %) were diagnosed with AC. Combination of low QRS voltages with interventricular septum ≥ 1,6 cm was the most specific (specificity 100 %, positive predictive value 100 %) ECG/echo index, while the ratio between the sum of all QRS voltages and LVWT <7,8 was the most sensitive and accurate (sensitivity 94 %, negative predictive value 97 %, accuracy 82 %). When the latter index was added to a model using easily-accessible clinical variables, the diagnostic accuracy for AC greatly increased (AUC from 0,84 to 0,95; p = 0,007).ConclusionsAmong patients with non-dilated hypertrophic ventricles with normal ejection fraction and echocardiographic RF of AC, easily-measurable ECG/echo indexes, mainly when added to few clinical variables, can help the physician orient second level investigations. External validation of the results is warranted.Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier B.V.

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