Prevalence, clinical significance and prognosis value of liver stiffness measurement anomalies in transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis

Background – Laboratory liver anomalies are common in cardiac amyloidosis; however, their significance regarding liver stiffness is unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence, clinical significance, and prognostic value of liver stiffness measurement (LSM) anomalies in transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis (ATTR-CA). Methods – Consecutive patients diagnosed with ATTR-CA who underwent liver stiffness assessment were included in the study. Demographic, clinical, laboratory, transthoracic echocardiography and liver stiffness data were retrospectively collected. LSM was obtained through either transient elastography or supersonic shear imaging. Patient cohort was divided in two groups according to a 10 kPa threshold. Follow up data were collected for the occurrence of hospitalization for heart failure and all-cause death. Results – Two hundred and eighty-four patients with ATTR-CA – 26 (9 %) hereditary variant ATTR, 258 (91 %) wild-type ATTR – were included. A LSM over 10 kPa was found in 4 (15 %) and 98 (38 %) patients with ATTRv and ATTRwt respectively (p = 0.02). Among patients with ATTRwt, high LSM was more frequent in advanced stages of ATTR-CA and was associated with increased risk of hospitalization for heart failure after multivariate analysis with a hazard ratio of 2.41 [1.05–5.55] (p = 0.04). Among patients with NYHA stage 1, 28 % presented high LSM associated with high NT-proBNP levels. Integration of high LSM with NT-proBNP and estimated glomerular filtration rate provided a better estimate of patient survival. Conclusion – LSM over 10 kPa is found in up to 36 % of patients with ATTR-CA and is associated with advanced stages of cardiomyopathy and increased risk of hospitalization for heart failure in ATTRwt patients.