Can you imagine living 11 years with a life-threatening disease you didn't know you had? For Walt, that's how long it took to learn that his symptoms were caused by transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM), a rare, life-threatening condition that affects the heart and is associated with heart failure. ATTR-CM occurs when transthyretin, a normal transport protein, becomes unstable. The unstable protein misfolds, creating amyloid fibrils that can build up in your heart and other parts of your body. The buildup causes the heart muscle to stiffen over time, eventually leading to heart failure.
In 2007, Walt was diagnosed with congestive heart failure and bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome. Though he was shocked by these diagnoses, he followed the advice of his doctors to manage his conditions. Soon after, new symptoms emerged, including shortness of breath, ruptured biceps tendon, lumbar spinal stenosis and an irregular heartbeat. Walt didn't know at the time that these seemingly unrelated symptoms were the first signs of ATTR-CM.