Heart Failure in Cardiac Amyloidosis: Suspecting and Diagnosing Transthyretin Amyloid Cardiomyopathy in Underdiagnosed Populations at Risk for Heart Failure-Think Amyloid Echocardiography Laboratory Poster

Think Amyloid Echocardiography Laboratory Poster

Pdf Summary

Transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis (ATTR-CA) is a frequently encountered but often overlooked progressive cardiomyopathy that can be life-threatening. It is characterized by the accumulation of amyloid fibrils in the heart. This condition is prevalent in different populations, with a 4% prevalence of hereditary ATTR-CA in African Americans and a greater than 15% prevalence of wild-type ATTR-CA among the elderly. <br /><br />Echocardiographic features can help identify myocardial infiltration in amyloidosis. Therefore, the echocardiogram report should recommend further diagnostic tests, such as a pyrophosphate (PYP) scan, to confirm the presence of amyloidosis. Additionally, it is important to rule out light chain amyloidosis by conducting tests for serum and urine kappa/lambda light chains and serum and urine immunofixation electrophoresis. <br /><br />Some common echocardiographic findings in ATTR-CA include moderate to severely increased left ventricular wall thickness, increased right ventricular wall thickness, increased interatrial septal thickness, thickened valves, biatrial dilatation, and features suggestive of restrictive left ventricular filling. Another important finding is the apical sparing pattern on speckle tracking imaging. <br /><br />To learn more about ATTR-CA and its management, additional resources are available. These resources are supported by an unrestricted educational grant from Pfizer, Inc.

Keywords

Transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis

ATTR-CA

progressive cardiomyopathy

amyloid fibrils

echocardiographic features

myocardial infiltration

PYP scan

light chain amyloidosis

left ventricular wall thickness

apical sparing pattern