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BACKGROUNDS The relative apical sparing pattern (RASP) of left ventricular (LV) longitudinal strain (LS) is frequently associated with cardiac amyloidosis (CA). However, the visual assessment of RASP is inconsistent, and the quantitative assessment of RASP is time-consuming. This study aimed to compare assessments of RASP for the identification of CA with conventional assessments and investigate their reproducibility and relevance on the assessments. METHODS Forty patients with biopsy-proven CA were compared with 80 hypertrophied patients matched for mean LV wall thickness. We compared the discriminative abilities of three assessments of RASP to identify CA (visual, quantitative, and semiquantitative). Nine patterns of semiquantitative RASP were investigated; finally, it was defined as "reduction of LS" (≥ -10%) in ≥5 (of 6) basal segments, relative to "preserved LS" (

Background Cardiac amyloidosis (CA) mimics left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). It is treatable, but its prognosis is poor. A simple screening tool for CA would be valuable. CA is more precisely diagnosed with echocardiographic deformation parameters (e.g., relative apical sparing pattern [RASP]) than with conventional parameters. We aimed to 1) investigate incremental benefits of echocardiographic deformation parameters over established parameters for CA screening; 2) determine the resultant risk score for CA screening; and 3) externally validate the score in LVH patients. Methods We retrospectively studied 295 consecutive non-ischemic LVH patients who underwent detailed diagnostic tests. CA was diagnosed with biopsy or 99mTc-PYP scintigraphy. The base model comprised age (≥65 years [men], ≥70 years [women]), low voltage on the electrocardiogram, and posterior wall thickness ≥ 14 mm in reference to the literature. The incremental benefit of each binarized echocardiographic parameter over the base model was assessed using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis and comparisons of the area under the curve (AUC). Results Fifty-four (18%) patients had CA. RASP showed the most incremental benefit for CA screening over the base model. After conducting multiple logistic regression analysis for CA screening using four variables (RASP and base model components), a score was determined (range, 0–4 points). The score demonstrated adequate discrimination ability for CA (AUC = 0.86). This result was confirmed in another validation cohort (178 patients, AUC = 0.88). Conclusions We developed a score incorporating RASP for CA screening. This score is potentially useful in the risk stratification and management of LVH patients.

Patients with generalized left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) frequently have overlapping conditions which could complicate diagnosis and prognosis. The relative apical sparing pattern (RASP) of left ventricular longitudinal strain (LS) is determined on the strain polar map while measuring global