Cardiac Amyloidosis
What is Cardiac Amyloidosis?
Cardiac amyloidosis is a rare cardiovascular disease where abnormal proteins called amyloid build up in the heart. Amyloids make the heart muscle stiff and thick, preventing the heart from properly pumping effectively. Over time, this can lead to severe arrhythmias and heart failure.
Why is Cardiac Amyloidosis Important?
Cardiac amyloidosis is often underdiagnosed or mistaken for other cardiovascular diseases. Symptoms slowly progress over time, causing patients to be diagnosed after significant heart damage has occurred. If left untreated, cardiac amyloidosis becomes life-threatening and will lead to cardiac death.
Symptoms:
Shortness of breath
Fatigue/Dizziness
Arrhythmias
Swelling in the legs and ankles
Low blood pressure
Non-cardiac symptoms like carpal tunnel syndrome, easy bruising, and gastrointestinal issues can occur in some patients.
Types of Cardiac Amyloidosis:
AL (Light-Chain) Amyloidosis: Caused by abnormal proteins in the bone marrow, progresses rapidly and can severely damage the heart, kidney, and other organs
ATTR (Transthyretin) Amyloidosis: Transthyretin proteins become unstable and form amyloid deposits, commonly hereditary or developed from aging
Treatments Cardiac Amyloidosis
Tafamidis Therapy: commonly used to treat ATTR amyloidosis, stabilizes the transthyretin proteins and slows down amyloid buildup in the heart, reduce disease progression
Chemotherapy: commonly used to treat AL amyloidosis, reduce the production of abnormal proteins that amyloid deposits
Supportive Treatments: medications such as diuretics to help with swelling and manage heart failure symptoms
Cardiac amyloidosis is a rare and serious disease caused by abnormal protein deposits in the heart. Even though it is difficult to diagnose, newer treatments and testing methods are being developed to improve patient outcomes. Early diagnosis remains a key factor in slowing cardiovascular disease progression like cardiac amyloidosis.
