About

Karima Addetia is an Associate Professor at the University of Chicago in the Department of Medicine-Cardiology. Her research focuses on echocardiography, cardiac amyloidosis, right ventricular assessment, and the application of artificial intelligence in cardiac imaging. She has contributed to the development of novel screening tools for cardiac amyloidosis, evaluation of right ventricular function, and the refinement of echocardiographic techniques for diagnosing and prognosticating various cardiac conditions. Her work includes advancing the understanding of the mechanisms of cardiac implantable electronic device interference, the assessment of valvular heart disease, and the use of deep learning to improve measurement accuracy and workflow efficiency in echocardiography.

Research topics

• Cardiology
• Medicine
• Internal medicine
• Radiology
• Gastroenterology
• Demography

Selected publications

• 26-CCC-10693-ACC POTENTIAL VALUE OF CARDIOVASCULAR MRI IN LATE PRESENTATION ST-ELEVATION MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION: A TALE OF TWO PATIENTS

  Journal of the American College of Cardiology · 2026-03-27

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• 26-A-13895-ACC PROGNOSTIC VALUE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE MODEL FOR ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY BASED DIAGNOSIS OF CARDIAC AMYLOIDOSIS

  Journal of the American College of Cardiology · 2026-03-27

  article
  PublisherDOI

• 26-A-14495-ACC NONINVASIVE ASSESSMENT OF MICROVASCULAR DISEASE IN CARDIAC AMYLOIDOSIS USING SEMIQUANTITATIVE PERFUSION CMR: INSIGHTS FROM A MULTICENTER COLLABORATION

  Journal of the American College of Cardiology · 2026-03-27

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Diastolic Age: A Cardiac Biological Clock Derived from Echocardiography and the PREVENT Heart Failure Risk Score

  medRxiv · 2026-04-17

  articleOpen access

  ABSTRACT Background Among cardiac measures, diastolic parameters demonstrate the earliest and most consistent age-related changes. This can be leveraged to develop a continuous left ventricular (LV) Diastolic Age from routine echocardiographic parameters. Analogous to how epigenetic clocks weight molecular markers against mortality risk, we calibrated Diastolic Age by weighting echocardiographic features against the validated PREVENT–Heart Failure (HF) risk score. Methods We analyzed 1,952 participants from the Project Baseline Health Study (median age 50 [36–64] years, 54% female). The measure was derived using partial least-squares regression anchored on PREVENT-HF and calibrated within a healthy reference subgroup. External validation was performed in the WASE (n=1,708) and Stanford Cardiovascular Aging (n=313) cohorts. Associations with ASE-defined LV diastolic dysfunction (LVDD), epigenetic clocks, and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) were examined. Results Diastolic Age correlated strongly with chronological age (r=0.78) with robust external validation (WASE r=0.76; Stanford r=0.82; calibration slopes ≈1.0). It increased progressively across grades of diastolic dysfunction and discriminated LVDD with an AUC of 0.89 (95% CI 0.87–0.92), and was independently associated with hypertension, diabetes, and elevated C-reactive protein. While correlated with the Levine (r=0.76) and Horvath (r=0.41) epigenetic clocks, residual analyses indicated that Diastolic Age captures a distinct cardiac-specific dimension of biological aging. Over median follow-up of 4.2 years, it independently predicted MACE (HR 2.30, 95% CI 1.70–3.18), with accelerated diastolic aging across all age groups among those with events. Discrimination was comparable to ASE-defined LVDD (C-index 0.83 vs. 0.82). Conclusions Diastolic Age provides a continuous, echocardiography-derived measure of cardiac biological aging that complements categorical diastolic grading and epigenetic aging clocks, and independently predicts cardiovascular outcomes.

  PublisherDOI

• 26-CCC-19080-ACC SORE THROAT, SORE HEART

  Journal of the American College of Cardiology · 2026-03-27

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Noninvasive assessment of microvascular disease in cardiac amyloidosis using semi-quantitative perfusion cardiac magnetic resonance

  Journal of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance · 2025-01-01

  articleOpen access
  PublisherDOI

• Cardiac amyloidosis detection from a single echocardiographic video clip: a novel artificial intelligence-based screening tool

  European Heart Journal · 2025-05-26 · 28 citations

  articleOpen access

  BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Accurate differentiation of cardiac amyloidosis (CA) from phenotypic mimics remains challenging using current clinical and echocardiographic techniques. The accuracy of a novel artificial intelligence (AI) screening algorithm for echocardiography-based CA detection was assessed. METHODS: Utilizing a multisite, multiethnic dataset (n = 2612, 52% CA), a convolutional neural network was trained to differentiate CA from phenotypic controls using transthoracic apical four-chamber video clips. External validation was conducted globally across 18 sites including 597 CA cases and 2122 controls. Classification accuracy was assessed on the entire external validation dataset, and subgroup analyses were performed both on technetium pyrophosphate scintigraphy referrals, and individuals matched for age, sex, and wall thickness. Model accuracy was also compared with the transthyretin CA score and the increased wall thickness score within a subset of older heart failure with preserved ejection fraction patients with increased wall thickness. RESULTS: Cardiac amyloidosis patients and controls displayed similar age, sex, race, and comorbidities. After the removal of uncertain AI predictions (13%), model discrimination and classification were excellent for the entire external validation dataset [area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) 0.93, sensitivity 85%, specificity 93%], irrespective of CA subtype (sensitivity: light-chain = 84%, wild-type transthyretin = 85%, and hereditary transthyretin = 86%). Performance was maintained in subgroup analysis in patients clinically referred for technetium pyrophosphate scintigraphy imaging (AUROC 0.86, sensitivity 77%, specificity 86%) and matched patients (AUROC 0.92, sensitivity 84%, specificity 91%). The AI model (AUROC 0.93) also outperformed transthyretin CA score (AUROC 0.73) and increased wall thickness (AUROC 0.80) scores. CONCLUSIONS: This AI screening model-using only an apical four-chamber view-effectively differentiated CA from other causes of increased left ventricular wall thickness.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Abstract 4366466: Clot or Not? Witnessing the Power of Multimodality Imaging

  Circulation · 2025-11-03

  articleSenior author

  Background: Most left ventricular (LV) apical defects noted on transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) are presumed to be thrombi especially when an apical wall motion abnormality is concurrently present. This case report highlights the importance of multi-modality imaging in the work-up of an apical mass in the presence of wall motion abnormalities with an unexpected final diagnosis. Case Presentation: A 67-year-old man with a past history of pleural mesothelioma complicated by pericardial effusions and atrial arrythmias now in partial remission, presented for a TTE pre-CAR-T Cell chemotherapy. The TTE was ordered for further evaluation of patient reported episodes of shortness of breath over the last 3 months despite active bevacizumab therapy. The TTE was notable for a normal LV ejection fraction (57%), anteroseptal and apical septal wall hypokinesis as well as a subtle density at the LV apex which appeared to take up microbubble contrast. ( 1A, circled ). A restaging non-contrast computed tomography (CT) scan done 1 month prior demonstrated a pericardial nodule abutting the myocardium but did not show any intracardiac masses. To better characterize the mass, a cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging study (CMR) was performed. On delayed enhancement the mass appeared heterogeneous with evidence of gadolinium contrast uptake. This ruled out the possibility of thrombus and suggested a vascular structure. ( 1B, circled ). Subsequent cardiac positron emitted tomography (PET) scan with 11.6mCl F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (F-FDG) demonstrated a hypermetabolic focus in the LV apex suspicious for metastatic deposit from known mesothelioma. Similar uptake was also noted in the lungs, pleura, and thoracoabdominal nodes. Suprarenal mass biopsy revealed malignant mesothelioma. ( 1C, arrow ). Discussion: Cardiac metastases of solid tumors are extremely rare. When they do occur, most are in the pericardium (~58%) followed by the myocardium (~19%), epicardium, and endocardium, respectively. In this patient, the TTE finding of microbubble contrast uptake in the LV apical mass was key to trigger further imaging with CMR and PET and ultimately diagnose metastases which would otherwise not have been discovered. Early discovery of recurrence and metastases improve chances for a better outcome. In patients with known history of malignancy, physicians should be vigilant in utilizing multi-modality imaging for intracardiac mass differentiation.

  PublisherDOI

• Spotlight on the Right Ventricle: Why We Need to Do Better

  Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography · 2025-04-24 · 1 citations

  editorialSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Impacto de la ecocardiografía tridimensional

  Revista Argentina de Cardiología · 2025-11-17 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  En la última década, la ecocardiografía tridimensional ha experimentado una enorme evolución tecnológica. El primer hito importante fue el desarrollo de los transductores transtorácicos matriciales, que reemplazaron la reconstrucción 3D tediosa y lenta a partir de la adquisición consecutiva de imágenes en múltiples planos, y dieron como resultado conjuntos de datos de volumen casi en tiempo real. Otro hito importante más reciente fue el desarrollo de transductores de muestreo completo para ETE 3D en tiempo real, que en los últimos cinco años se han utilizado ampliamente en la clínica. Una ventaja importante de esta tecnología incluye una excelente calidad de imagen independientemente del tipo de vida del paciente, facilidad de uso e imágenes visualmente impactantes, fáciles de interpretar, que proporcionan información clínica novedosa. Además, la rápida aparición de procedimientos percutáneos para el tratamiento de enfermedades estructurales del corazón, como la reparación de la válvula mitral o el cierre de fugas perivalvulares, demuestra que el éxito de estos procedimientos depende mucho de la guía por ETE 3D. En la Tabla 1 se detallan las áreas de investigación activa y las áreas que aún no se han explorado. Anticipamos que, en el futuro, una mayor miniaturización de los transductores de ETE 3D podría permitir que esta tecnología se expanda a pequeños pacientes pediátricos, lo cual tendría un gran impacto sobre los resultados de reparaciones intracardíacas complejas. Es más, la optimización de imágenes 3D con contraste haría que esta tecnología fuera útil en pacientes “técnicamente” difíciles y también en las pruebas de eco estrés 3D. El desarrollo de transductores vasculares 3D con frecuencias de captura de imágenes más altas mejoraría las capacidades actuales de diagnosticar la enfermedad arteriosclerótica carotídea, ya que posibilitaría una evaluación más sencilla de la carga de la enfermedad. Todos estos desarrollos futuros fortalecerán las bases de la E3D incrementando y expandiendo más su utilidad clínica en nuevos territorios.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Roberto M. Lang

  University of Chicago

  359 shared

• Victor Mor‐Avi

  University of Chicago

  266 shared

• Péter Domsik

  University of Szeged

  201 shared

• Denisa Muraru

  IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano

  194 shared

• Laurie Soulat-Dufour

  Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Paris

  151 shared

• S. Mihaila

  Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy

  150 shared

• S. Charfeddine

  Hopital Universitaire Hedi Chaker

  147 shared

• S. Kammoun

  147 shared