Echocardiographic findings in subjects with an amyloidogenic apolipoprotein A1 pathogenic variant.

BACKGROUND: Very small case series of patients with apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA1) amyloidosis are available.

METHODS: We described the clinical and echocardiographic characteristics of individuals with the pathogenic APOA1 variant Leu75Pro (p. Leu99Pro), referred for cardiac screening.

RESULTS: We enrolled 189 subjects, 54% men, median age 55 years (interquartile range 42-67), 39% with concomitant renal disease and 31% with liver disease. Median left ventricular ejection fraction was 60% (55-66). Overall, these subjects did not show overt diastolic dysfunction nor left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy. Age correlated with interventricular septal (IVS) thickness ( r  = 0.484), LV mass index ( r  = 0.459), E/e' ( r  = 0.501), and right ventricular free wall thickness ( r  = 0.594) (all p  < 0.001). Some individuals displayed red flags for cardiac amyloidosis (CA), and 14% met non-invasive criteria for CA. Twenty-nine subjects died over 5.8 years (4.1-8.0), with 10 deaths for cardiovascular causes. Individuals meeting echocardiographic criteria for CA had a much higher risk of all-cause death ( p  = 0.009), cardiovascular death ( p  = 0.001), cardiovascular death or heart failure (HF) hospitalisation ( p  < 0.001). Subjects with both renal and liver involvement had a more prominent cardiac involvement, and shortest survival.

CONCLUSIONS: Subjects with the APOA1 Leu75Pro variant displayed minor echocardiographic signs of cardiac involvement, but 14% met echocardiographic criteria for CA. Subjects with suspected CA had a worse outcome.