Long Delays in Cardiac Amyloidosis Diagnosis Persist

TOPLINE:

Most older adults with transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis (ATTR-CM) experienced at least 6 months of delay in diagnosis after a first heart failure (HF) diagnosis. Those delays did not improve over time. Women and patients with certain comorbidities were more likely to experience a delayed diagnosis.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers analyzed US Medicare fee-for-service claims from January 2016 to December 2022 to assess delays in diagnosing ATTR-CM after an HF diagnosis and to identify associated factors.
• They included beneficiaries aged 65 or older with a new HF or cardiomyopathy diagnosis and an amyloidosis diagnosis who had at least 3 years of continuous enrollment in Medicare Parts A-C and 6 months of Part D coverage.
• The final cohort included 7770 patients. The median age of the patients was 81 years, and 77% were men.
• The primary outcome was the number of days between the first HF diagnosis and the first ATTR‑CM diagnosis, with a delay defined as a gap of more than 6 months.