How to Identify Transthyretin Cardiac Amyloidosis at an Early Stage

Abstract

Cardiac involvement of systemic amyloidosis is preferentially observed in patients with amyloid light chain amyloidosis or transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTR). Owing to the development of diagnostic modalities and changes in recognition by physicians, transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis (ATTR-CA) is now understood to be a more common cause of heart failure than previously thought. Recent progress in disease-modifying therapeutic interventions, such as transthyretin stabilizers, has resulted in ATTR-CA changing from an incurable disease to a curable disease. These interventions are particularly effective in patients with mild symptoms of heart failure, thus indicating that early detection and a precise diagnosis are important for improving the prognosis. In this review article, we summarize the recent reports of early screening of ATTR-CA and describe some important points regarding the making of a precise diagnosis, especially focusing on histological evaluations.

Assessment of clinical characteristics of cardiac amyloidosis as a potential underlying etiology in patients diagnosed with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction

“…Furthermore, it is more associated with comorbidities such as hypertension (HT), diabetes (DM), obesity, and chronic kidney disease (CKD) [1]. Recently, it has been established that cardiac amyloidosis (CA) is an important cause of HFpEF than previously thought [2,3]. The disease has two main subtypes: transthyretin CA (ATTR-CA) and immunoglobulin light chain CA (AL-CA).…”