Triplane Left Atrial Reservoir Strain in Cardiac Amyloidosis: A Comparative Study with Rhythm-Matched Controls.

BACKGROUND

Cardiac amyloidosis is characterized by progressive myocardial and atrial infiltration, leading to atrial mechanical dysfunction, atrial fibrillation, and thromboembolic complications. Left atrial (LA) strain is an established marker of atrial function; however, data on triplane LA strain in cardiac amyloidosis are limited.

METHODS

We evaluated transthoracic echocardiographic examinations of 24 patients with cardiac amyloidosis and 24 age-, sex-, rhythm-, and ejection fraction-matched control subjects (9 with atrial fibrillation in each group). Among amyloidosis patients, 21 had transthyretin and 3 had light-chain cardiac amyloidosis. All examinations were performed during 2025. Triplane and biplane LA reservoir strain were assessed using speckle-tracking echocardiography. Two-way analysis of variance tested the effects of disease (amyloidosis vs. control) and rhythm (sinus rhythm vs. atrial fibrillation). Agreement between triplane and biplane measurements was evaluated using Pearson correlation and Bland-Altman analyses.

RESULTS

Triplane LA reservoir strain was significantly lower in patients with cardiac amyloidosis compared with controls (6.7 ± 2.7% vs. 16.2 ± 8.3%, p < 0.001). Even in sinus rhythm, amyloidosis patients demonstrated markedly impaired LA strain, with mean values similar to those observed in control subjects with atrial fibrillation. Two-way ANOVA revealed significant main effects of disease (F = 68.9, p < 0.0001) and rhythm (F = 45.0, p < 0.0001), as well as a significant disease-rhythm interaction (F = 26.5, p < 0.0001). Triplane and biplane LA strain showed strong correlation (r = 0.90, p < 0.0001) with good agreement. Reproducibility was excellent (intra-observer ICC = 0.97; inter-observer ICC = 0.94).

CONCLUSIONS

Triplane LA reservoir strain is markedly reduced in cardiac amyloidosis and enables comprehensive visualization of atrial mechanical dysfunction. The technique demonstrates high reproducibility and strong agreement with biplane analysis, supporting its use as a complementary tool for characterizing amyloid atriopathy.