[Diagnosing cardiac amyloidosis in magnetic resonance imaging: The discriminating factors]

Infiltrative cardiomyopathies refers to deposits of substances in the myocardial tissue resulting in a structural abnormality and/or alteration of cardiac function. Cardiac amyloidosis is an extracellular infiltration of amyloid fibril. Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is essential (in the) for its diagnosis. MRI sequences (morphological, viability and parametric mapping) allow a structural and dynamic analysis of the cardiac function as well as a characterization of the myocardial tissue: edema, fatty infiltration, fibrosis. In cardiac amyloidosis, the morphological sequences classically highlight ventricular hypertrophy and thickening of the heart valves. Ventricular functions are assessed by the cine sequences (The cine sequences make it possible to evaluate the ventricular functions.) The viability sequences show (a more diffuse distribution of hypersignals) an abnormal pattern of late gadolinium enhancement in both circumferential and sub-endocardial distribution. The relaxometry sequences or parametric T1 and/or T2 mapping allow the spatial visualization of quantitative changes of the myocardium. The presence of macroscopic myocardial edema or fibrosis causes a prolongation of the native T1 and an increase of the extracellular volume.