ATTR-CM and Vitamin A Supplementation: What You Need to Know

Transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM)external link, opens in a new tab, a rare form of heart failure, changes the behavior of transthyretin (TTR), a protein that normally carries vitamin A around your body.

 This can stiffen your heart muscle, making it hard to pump enough blood with each heartbeat. Some ATTR-CM treatments decrease how much TTR you make, which can slow the disease progression but also cause low levels of vitamin A, says Albert Hicks, MDexternal link, opens in a new tab, a cardiologist and the medical director of cardiac transplantation at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore.