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Published on: June 11, 2019
Echocardiography as the first diagnostic clue to rapidly progressive systemic AL amyloidosis associated with multiple
Bogdan Caloian1, Dumitru Zdrenghea2, Sorin Claudiu Man3
1Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Medicine and Pharmacy "Iuliu Hatieganu", Cluj-Napoca. bogdan912@yahoo.com.
Insights
AL-amyloidosis is a severe heart disease. Advanced echocardiography, including tissue Doppler imaging and speckle tracking, aids in diagnosing cardiac involvement and predicting outcomes in AL-amyloidosis patients.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Hematology
- Medical Diagnostics
Background:
- AL-amyloidosis is a rare systemic disease with a poor prognosis, frequently affecting the heart.
- Cardiac involvement in AL-amyloidosis significantly worsens patient outcomes.
- Rapidly increasing left ventricular (LV) wall thickness is a marker of unfavorable prognosis.
Observation:
- A 63-year-old male patient with AL-amyloidosis and cardiac involvement was diagnosed.
- The patient also presented with thrombosis at multiple sites.
- Echocardiographic techniques were employed for detailed cardiac assessment.
Findings:
- Tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) and speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) were utilized.
- These advanced echocardiographic methods provided critical diagnostic insights.
- The findings indicated the prognostic value of these techniques in cardiac AL-amyloidosis.
Implications:
- Advanced echocardiography offers crucial diagnostic and prognostic information for AL-amyloidosis.
- These techniques can improve the management of patients with cardiac involvement.
- Further research into echocardiographic markers may refine risk stratification in AL-amyloidosis.
Abstract:
AL-amyloidosis is a rare, but complex disease, with a severe prognosis, cardiac involvement being found in half of the patients. The rapid increase of the LV wall thickness predicts an unfavorable evolution. We report the case of a 63-year-old man diagnosed with AL-amyloidosis, with cardiac involvement, associated with multiple site thrombosis. Specific echocardiographic methods like tissue Doppler imaging and speckle tracking provided crucial diagnostic and prognostic information.
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