IMR Press / RCM / Volume 23 / Issue 6 / DOI: 10.31083/j.rcm2306192
Open Access Review
Fabry Disease Cardiomyopathy: A Review of the Role of Cardiac Imaging from Diagnosis to Treatment
Show Less
1 Heart Failure and Inherited Cardiac Diseases Unit, Cardiology Department, Hospital General Universitario Dr. Balmis, Alicante Institute for Health and Biomedical Research (ISABIAL), 03010 Alicante, Spain
2 Radiology Department, Hospital General Universitario Dr. Balmis, Alicante Institute for Health and Biomedical Research (ISABIAL), 03010 Alicante, Spain
*Correspondence: vcliment@coma.es (Vicente Climent-Payá); laurafuertesken@gmail.com (Laura Fuertes Kenneally)
Academic Editor: Maurizio Pieroni
Rev. Cardiovasc. Med. 2022, 23(6), 192; https://doi.org/10.31083/j.rcm2306192
Submitted: 16 March 2022 | Revised: 5 April 2022 | Accepted: 24 April 2022 | Published: 27 May 2022
Copyright: © 2022 The Author(s). Published by IMR Press.
This is an open access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.
Abstract

Fabry disease is a rare X-linked inherited lysosomal storage disorder caused by the absence or reduction of alfa-galactosidase A activity in lysosomes, resulting in accumulation of glycosphingolipids in various tissues. The main organ affected is the heart, which frequently manifests as left ventricular hypertrophy and can ultimately lead to cardiac fibrosis, heart failure, valve disease, cardiac conduction abnormalities and sudden cardiac death. Today we know that myocyte damage starts before these signs and symptoms are detectable on routine studies, during the designated pre-clinical phase of Fabry disease. The initiation of specific therapy for Fabry disease during the early stages of the disease has a great impact on the prognosis of these patients avoiding progression to irreversible fibrosis and preventing cardiovascular complications. Cardiac imaging has become an essential tool in the management of Fabry disease as it can help physicians suspect the disorder, diagnose patients in the early stages and improve outcomes. The recent development of novel imaging techniques makes necessary an update on the subject. This review discusses the role of multimodal imaging in the diagnosis, staging, patient selection for treatment and prognosis of Fabry disease and discusses recent advances in imaging techniques that provide new insights into the pathogenesis of the disorder and the possibility of novel treatment targets.

Keywords
Fabry disease
multimodal imaging
echocardiography
cardiac magnetic resonance imaging
left ventricular hypertrophy
inflammation and fibrosis
Figures
Fig. 1.
Share
Back to top