Doppler characterization of left ventricular diastolic function in cardiac amyloidosis

Sixty-four patients with primary systemic amyloidosis—53 with two-dimensional echocardiographic features of cardiac involvement (Group I) and 11 without cardiac involvement (Group II)—underwent Doppler echocardiographic assessment of left ventricular diastolic function. Pulsed wave Doppler recordings of left ventricular inflow velocities and pulmonary vein flow velocities with respiratory monitoring in these patients were compared with findings in a normal group. Patients in Group I showed striking abnormalities of left ventricular diastolic filling when classified into subgroups by mean left ventricular wall thickness: early >12 but