Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography : official publication of the American Society of Echocardiography
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J Am Soc Echocardiogr · Jul 2019
Role of Right Ventricular Strain Measured by Two-Dimensional Echocardiography in the Diagnosis of Cardiac Amyloidosis.
Cardiac amyloidosis (CA) causes restrictive cardiomyopathy usually associated with a poor prognosis. Two subtypes predominate: systemic light-chain CA (ALCA) and transthyretin-derived CA (either wild type transthyretin amyloidosis [TTRwt] or mutant transthyretin amyloidosis [TTRm]). Left ventricular (LV) apical sparing has been extensively studied using speckle-tracking echocardiography for diagnosis, but the right ventricular (RV) deformation pattern has not been described. The aims of this study were to characterize RV involvement in patients with CA and to identify parameters that may help in the differential diagnosis between ALCA and transthyretin-derived CA subtypes. ⋯ RV dysfunction is common in patients with CA. Analysis of RV strain showed an apical sparing pattern, as previously described in the left ventricle, with a higher AR as a specific finding in patients with ALCA. RV AR may be a parameter that can differentiate the subtypes of amyloidosis on the basis of speckle-tracking echocardiographic analysis.