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Backgrounds The relative apical sparing pattern (RASP) of left ventricular (LV) longitudinal strain (LS) is frequently associated with cardiac amyloidosis (CA). However, the visual assessment of RASP is inconsistent, and the quantitative assessment of RASP is time‐consuming. This study aimed to compare assessments of RASP for the identification of CA with conventional assessments and investigate their reproducibility and relevance on the assessments. Methods Forty patients with biopsy‐proven CA were compared with 80 hypertrophied patients matched for mean LV wall thickness. We compared the discriminative abilities of three assessments of RASP to identify CA (visual, quantitative, and semiquantitative). Nine patterns of semiquantitative RASP were investigated; finally, it was defined as “reduction of LS” (≥ −10%) in ≥5 (of 6) basal segments, relative to “preserved LS” (< −15%) in at least one apical segment. Results The concordance between the two observers for visual RASP was modest (κ = 0.65). On the other hand, the consistency for semiquantitative RASP was perfect (κ = 1.00). The discriminative ability of semiquantitative RASP (area under the curve [AUC]  = 0.74) was significantly better than that of visual RASP (AUC = 0.65) and equivalent to that of binary quantitative RASP. Conclusion Semiquantitative RASP assessment is reproducible and accurately discriminates CA. This simple assessment may help readily refine the risk stratification of patients with diffuse LV hypertrophy.

Background The relative apical sparing pattern (RASP) of left ventricular longitudinal strain (LS) is determined on the strain polar map, while global longitudinal strain (GLS) is measured using speckle-tracking echocardiography and is frequently associated with cardiac amyloidosis (CA). According to recent reports, some elderly patients with aortic stenosis (AS) suffer from transthyretin CA and have a poor prognosis. Accordingly, we aimed to investigate the association of RASP and outcome of patients with severe AS. Methods We retrospectively studied 157 consecutive patients (age: 81±10 years, 33% men) with severe AS (mean transaortic pressure gradient: 49 mmHg) and preserved ejection fraction (>50%). After measuring GLS, RASP was semi-quantitatively and quantitatively assessed. Semi-quantitative RASP (sRASP) was defined as reduction of LS (more than −10%), showing light red or blue in ≥5 segments out of the basal six segments, relative to apical LS (less than −15%) showing red. This analysis was independently performed in a blinded manner by two observers. Quantitative RASP (qRASP) was calculated using the following formula: average apical LS/(average basal LS + average mid-ventricle LS), then qRASP ≥1 was determined as positive according to the previous paper. Patients were followed up to determine their outcomes, i.e., sudden cardiac death or unexpected admission due to heart failure over a median duration of 1.9 years. Concordance of sRASP was assessed using the kappa statistic, and a Cox proportional hazards model was used to assess the association between the parameters and primary outcome. Results The consistency in the observations of the two sonographers in identifying sRASP was found to be excellent (κ = 1.00). sRASP and qRASP were observed in 24 (15%) and 42 (27%) patients, respectively, and were significantly associated with the primary outcome (n=44; 28%). The representative case is shown in figure (left panel). Further, positive sRASP was associated with the outcome after adjusting for the Euro score, NYHA ≥II, and GLS (hazard ratio = 2.69, p=0.01). The model based on these covariates significantly improved following the addition of sRASP (Figure; right panel). In addition, sRASP was observed in four patients out of 50 patients who underwent aortic valve replacement. Of these, one patient had the primary outcome (25%). On the other hand, in the remaining 46 patients without sRASP, four patients had the outcome (9%). Figure 1 Conclusions RASP was observed in some patients with severe AS and has been shown to have increasing importance in predicting adverse cardiac events in such patients.

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