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Echocardiographic observations in patients with systemic infiltrative disease involving the heart
Insights
Echocardiography detects early heart abnormalities in systemic diseases linked to infiltrative cardiomyopathy. These echocardiographic findings appear before clinical symptoms, aiding early diagnosis of cardiac involvement.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Cardiovascular Imaging
- Systemic Diseases
Background:
- Infiltrative cardiomyopathy can arise from systemic diseases like amyloidosis, hypereosinophilia, and iron overload.
- Early detection of cardiac involvement is crucial for managing these conditions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate echocardiographic findings in patients with systemic diseases associated with infiltrative cardiomyopathy.
- To determine if cardiac abnormalities are detectable before clinical manifestation of heart disease.
Main Methods:
- Echocardiography was performed on 19 patients with systemic diseases (amyloidosis, idiopathic hypereosinophilia, iron overload).
- Echocardiographic parameters including left ventricular thickness, mass, dimension, and diastolic function were assessed.
Main Results:
- All 19 patients exhibited echocardiographic abnormalities, despite 53% having no clinical cardiac disease.
- Common findings included symmetrical left ventricular thickening and increased left ventricular mass.
- Systolic function (ejection fraction) remained preserved in most patients.
Conclusions:
- Echocardiography reveals subclinical cardiac abnormalities in systemic diseases linked to infiltrative cardiomyopathy.
- Echocardiographic screening can identify patients at risk before overt heart failure symptoms develop.
Abstract:
Echocardiography was used to evaluate the heart in 19 patients with one of various systemic diseases known to be associated with infiltrative cardiomyopathy. Four patients had systemic amyloidosis, 10 had idiopathic hypereosinophilia and 5 had iron overload caused by multiple blood transfusions. Although 10 patients (53 percent) had no clinical evidence of cardiac disease, all 19 had echocardiographic abnormalities; the left ventricle was symmetrically thickened (more than 11 mm) and left ventricular mass was increased (more than 275 g) in all; the left ventricular transverse dimension was modestly increased (more than 52 mm) in 5 patients (26 percent) and the velocity of mitral valve closure in early diastole was reduced (less that 60 mm/sec) in 5 patients. Systolic function, as evidenced by ejection fraction, was well maintained (greater than 60 percent) in 18 of 19 patients. Thus, it appears that echocardiographic abnormalities can be detected in many patients with a systemic disease associated with infiltrative cardiomyopathy even before clinically evident heart disease develops.