Screening for cardiac amyloidosis revealed pooled prevalences of 15.1% in left ventricular hypertrophy/hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, 12.6% in heart failure, and 9.6% in aortic stenosis.
Meta-Analysis
What is the prevalence of cardiac amyloidosis across different clinical screening settings?
Cardiac amyloidosis is relatively frequent in patients with HFpEF/HFmrEF, severe aortic stenosis, and LVH/HCM, highlighting the need for systematic screening strategies in these high-risk populations.
BACKGROUND: Cardiac amyloidosis (CA) is an under-recognized cause of heart failure. Its prevalence in screening studies, and the extent to which selective confirmatory testing affects prevalence estimates, remain uncertain across clinical settings. METHODS: We systematically searched PubMed/MEDLINE and EMBASE up to 10 August 2025. Two reviewers independently screened studies and extracted data. We grouped studies by clinical setting and combined prevalence estimates using random-effects meta-analysis. For each study, we calculated CA prevalence in 1) the whole enrolled cohort and 2) the subgroup who underwent confirmatory testing. RESULTS: Eighty-three studies were included. Pooled CA prevalence (whole cohort; tested subgroup) was highest in left ventricular hypertrophy/hypertrophic cardiomyopathy LVH/HCM (15.1%; 35.4%), followed by heart failure HF-mainly HF with preserved or mildly reduced ejection fraction (HFpEF/HFmrEF)-(12.6%; 13.6%) and aortic stenosis AS (9.6%; 11.6%). Orthopedic cohorts were lower overall (4.1%) but higher in tested subgroups (12.4%); "no specific red flags" showed 1.8% vs. 7.8%; non-cardiac bone scintigraphy was 0.49% in both denominators. Across settings, transthyretin CA predominated over light-chain CA. Several studies approached systematic screening in the general elderly; however, they were few and still applied referral criteria to second-level examinations. CONCLUSION: This meta-analysis shows that CA is relatively frequent in HFpEF/HFmrEF, severe AS, and LVH/HCM. To obtain reliable population estimates, future studies should test either all eligible participants or a predefined random sample, rather than only those with suspected disease. In clinical practice, screening strategies should clearly define which higher-risk individuals are referred for second-level tests, balancing diagnostic yield with feasibility.
Aimo et al. (Sat,) conducted a meta-analysis in Cardiac amyloidosis. Screening for cardiac amyloidosis was evaluated on Pooled prevalence of cardiac amyloidosis. Screening for cardiac amyloidosis revealed pooled prevalences of 15.1% in left ventricular hypertrophy/hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, 12.6% in heart failure, and 9.6% in aortic stenosis.