Pseudoinfarction Q Waves From a Stiff Heart: Classic But Commonly Overlooked Presentation of Cardiac Amyloidosis

Andrew S Kao; Vanessa Liu; Marcus A Urey; Quan M Bui

doi:10.1016/j.jaccas.2025.103951

Pseudoinfarction Q Waves From a Stiff Heart: Classic But Commonly Overlooked Presentation of Cardiac Amyloidosis

JACC Case Rep. 2025 Jul 9;30(18):103951. doi: 10.1016/j.jaccas.2025.103951.

Authors

Andrew S Kao¹, Vanessa Liu¹, Marcus A Urey², Quan M Bui³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medicine, University of California-San Diego, San Diego, California, USA.
² Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of California-San Diego, San Diego, California, USA.
³ Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of California-San Diego, San Diego, California, USA. Electronic address: q3bui@health.ucsd.edu.

Abstract

Cardiac amyloidosis (CA) is an infiltrative, restrictive cardiomyopathy caused by amyloid fibril deposition in the myocardium. Light chain CA is a rapidly progressive disease with a median survival <1 year if untreated. We present a case of light chain CA in a middle-aged woman that had significant delays in diagnosis despite classic presentation findings, including pseudoinfarction electrocardiographic pattern.

Keywords: cardiac amyloidosis; pseudoinfarction Q waves.