Characteristics and Clinical Value of Electroanatomic Voltage Mapping in Cardiac Amyloidosis

Cardiac amyloidoses (CAs) are an increasingly recognised group of infiltrative cardiomyopathies associated with high risk of adverse cardiac events. We sought to characterise the characteristics and clinical value of right ventricular (RV) electroanatomic voltage mapping (EVM) in CA.

Fifteen consecutive patients undergoing endomyocardial biopsy (EMB) for suspected CA (median age 75 years, 1st-3rd quartiles 64-78 years], 67% male) were enrolled in an observational prospective study. Each patient underwent RV high-density EVM using a multipolar catheter and EMB. The primary outcome was death or heart failure hospitalisation at 1-year follow-up. We recorded electrographic features at EMB sampling sites and electroanatomic data in the overall RV, and explored their correlations with histopathologic findings and primary outcomes events.

A final EMB-proven diagnosis of immunoglobulin light chain or transthyretin CA was formulated in 6 and 9 patients, respectively. Electrogram amplitudes in the bipolar and unipolar configurations averaged 1.55 ± 0.44 mV and 5.14 ± 1.50 mV, respectively, in the overall RV, with lower values in AL CA patients. We found a significant inverse correlation between both bipolar and unipolar electrogram amplitude and amyloid burden according to EMB (P = 0.001 and P = 0.025, respectively). At 1-year follow-up, 7 patients (47%) experienced a primary outcome event; the extent of bipolar dense scar area at RV EVM was an independent predictor of primary outcome events at multivariable analysis (odds ratio 2.40; P = 0.037).

In CA, electrogram amplitudes are around the lower limit of normal yet disproportionately low compared with the increased wall thickness. Out data suggest that RV electrogram amplitude may be a quantitative marker of amyloid burden, and that RV EVM may have prognostic value.