Cardiovascular magnetic resonance for amyloidosis

Cardiac involvement drives the prognosis and treatment in systemic amyloid. Echocardiography, the mainstay of current cardiac imaging, defines cardiac structure and function. Echocardiography, in conjunction with clinical phenotype, electrocardiogram and biomarkers (brain natriuretic peptide and troponin), provides an assessment of the likelihood and extent of cardiac involvement. Two tests are transforming our understanding of cardiac amyloidosis, bone tracer scanning and cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR). CMR provides a “second opinion” on the heart’s structure and systolic function with better accuracy and more precision than echocardiography but is unable to assess diastolic function and is not as widely available. Where CMR adds unique advantages is in evaluating myocardial tissue characterisation. With administration of contrast, the latest type of late gadolinium enhancement imaging (phase-sensitive inversion recovery sequence) is highly sensitive and specific with images virtually pathognomonic for amyloidosis. CMR is also demonstrating that the range of structural and functional changes in cardiac amyloid is broader than traditionally thought. CMR with T1 mapping, a relatively new CMR technique, can measure the amyloid burden and the myocyte response to infiltration (hypertrophy/cell loss) with advantages for tracking change (e.g. the wall thickness can stay the same but the composition can change) over time or during therapy. Such techniques hold great promise for advancing drug development in this arena and providing new prognostic insights. CMR with tissue characterisation is rewriting our understanding of cardiac amyloidosis and may lead to the development of new classification, therapies and prognostic systems.