Key Information
In early 2026, commercials featuring golfer Jack Nicklaus and actor Morgan Freeman discussing drugs for cardiac amyloidosis started appearing on television and online. Before then, many people had probably never heard of this rare, progressive heart condition. Caused by misshapen proteins that build up in heart muscle (and, often, in other organs), cardiac amyloidosis causes the walls of the heart to become thick, stiff, and unable to pump normally.
Currently, three drugs are FDA-approved to treat the most common form of cardiac amyloidosis, and more are in the pipeline. “These advances, along with improved recognition and earlier diagnosis, are helping extend the lives of people with the condition,” says Dr. Sarah Cuddy, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and director of the Cardiac Amyloidosis Program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.