Abstract: Objective To summarize the features of clinical manifestations, laboratory tests and imaging findings of patients
with cardiac amyloidosis (CA). Methods A total of 60 CA patients (including 41 male and 19 female patients) from 4 centers
admitted between May, 2012 and November, 2013 were included in the study. The demographic data, medical history, clinical
manifestations, laboratory test data, ECG, cardiac ultrasound, and cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging of the patients
were analyzed. Results Two-thirds of the 60 CA patients, were middle-aged or elderly men, and 47% of the patients had
AL-CA. The clinical manifestations included exertional dyspnea (73% ), pedal edema (47% ), hypotension (47% ), and
hypertrophy of the tongue (22%); abnormal laboratory test results included albuminuria (53%) and liver (15%) and kidney
(28%) dysfunction; blood routine, urine and serum immunoglobulin quantification and immunofixation electrophoresis could
help the screening of AL-CA. Kidney (53%) and liver (15%) involvement was common, and 86% of AL-CA patients had kidney
involvement. Typical ECG characteristics included poor R wave progression (35%), low voltage in limb leads (33%), and a
pseudo infarct Q wave (30%); the latter two were more frequent in AL-CA. The characteristics of ultrasound findings included
left ventricle thickening (100% ), left atrial enlargement (87% ) and enhanced echo of the myocardial granules(92% ), and
diastolic dysfunction was obvious in all the CA patients regardless of the systolic function. The DT and E/e’ of the mitral
annulus could be used as an index to evaluate diastolic dysfunction in early stage of the disease. Left ventricular (LV) global
subendocardial late gadolinium enhancement (LGE, 81%) accompanied by right ventrivular (RV) and atrial LGE was the
typical characteristic of CMR, and the range of LGE in the RV and the two atria was wider in AL-CA than in non-AL-CA.
NT-proBNP (97%) and cardiac troponin (53%) in CA patients were both elevated, which helped in diagnosing and assessing
the severity of cardiac involvement, according to which 50% of the patients were found to be at a high risk, 43% at an
intermediate risk, and 7% at a low risk. Conclusion The combination of the features of clinical, laboratory tests and
imaging findings of CA have important diagnostic and prognostic value for CA.