Cardiac Amyloidosis:
the rare cause of heart failure
Some people have no idea that they have Cardiac Amyloidosis. And this can be a problem because the disease causes unnoticed heart failure, making it impossible to treat the cause. That’s why it is crucial to find out on time that they have Cardiac Amyloidosis.
Podcast Dr. v.d. Zwaag
(subtitles available)
Presentation dr. Michels
(in Dutch / no subtitles available)
Inherited heart disease
Amyloidosis is a general term for diseases that cause damage to different organs. When Amyloidosis affects the heart, it is called Cardiac Amyloidosis.
People with this disease develop heart failure sooner or later. They can experience symptoms, such as fatigue, breath shortness or fluid retention.
Cardiac Amyloidosis can also cause several other typical symptoms. That’s why it is crucial that they can identify them.
Defective proteins
When Amyloidosis occurs, the body cannot properly deal with a certain type of protein. Normally, proteins are folded in a specific way so that they can do their job. This doesn’t happen by Amyloidosis: the folding of these proteins is disturbed: they lose their function as much as damage other organs.
How does this happen? In short: the misfolded proteins clump together and build up in spaces where they don’t belong (for example, between the cells of vital organs). The buildup of amyloid proteins causes dysfunctions of these affected organs.
The rare disease Cardiac Amyloidosis mainly affects the heart. The result is heart failure,
in which a thickened, stiffened heart muscle is less able to pump blood properly.
The importance of early diagnosis
Why is it essential to find out as soon as possible if heart failure is caused by Cardiac Amyloidosis?
Early diagnosis means being on time with the right treatment. Medication cannot cure this disease, but can slow down or stabilize the disease process… what brings perspectives.
On the other hand, a late or missed diagnosis generates a worse clinical picture: the patient’s condition is deteriorating without the appropriate treatment, as the misfolded proteins continue to build up in the heart, causing irreversible damages.
The symptoms associated with Cardiac Amyloidosis
Before any treatment is possible, the Cardiologist needs to know what exactly goes wrong. In other words, a diagnosis first has to be established after that patients express their signs and symptoms clearly and concretely.
The symptoms associated with Cardiac Amyloidosis can be:
Tingling or painful sensations in the hands and fingers ("Carpal Tunnel Syndrome")
Pain or numbness in the lower back and legs due to narrowing of the lower spine ("Spinal Stenosis")
Altered or tingling sensation in the feet and toes ("Peripheral Neuropathy")
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