A case of almost-exclusively atria-dominant cardiac amyloidosis related with hemodialysis

We report a case of a 68-year-old man who had dialysis-related amyloidosis. The patient underwent neck surgery due to spondyloarthritis. Unfortunately he died after the surgery in sepsis. The preoperative routine echocardiography didn't suggest cardiac involvement of amyloidosis. However, the pathological findings in autopsy revealed severe amyloid depositions of both atria in contrast to the quite mild involvement of ventricles.We have experienced that the cardiac involvement of dialysis-related amyloidosis may be confined to atria almost sparing ventricles. Therefore, in patients with hemodialysis-related amyloidosis, even if echocardiogram doesn't suggest any ventricular amyloidosis, physicians should consider the possibility of atrial amyloidosis and should check the detail of atrial findings. If the A wave in the mitral filling pattern seems small or absent, physicians have to proceed transesophageal echocardiogram to detect intra atrial thrombus and consider anti-coagulation therapy to prevent thromboembolic complications of atrial amyloidosis.