Key Information
A diagnosis of heart failure can be devastating, especially for someone who has been physically active and seemingly in otherwise good health. While there are many reasons why someone could develop heart failure, such as coronary artery disease or high blood pressure, there is another possible cause that often goes overlooked.
Have you heard of transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy, also known as ATTR-CM? Chances are you haven’t. This rare, life-threatening condition is a type of cardiac amyloidosis and often goes undiagnosed, as its symptoms can mimic more common causes of heart failure or even seem completely unrelated to a heart condition.1-3 ATTR-CM occurs when transthyretin, a transport protein that naturally circulates in the blood, becomes unstable, dissociates, and misfolds. The misfolded protein can aggregate and form amyloid fibrils that build up in the heart and other parts of the body as amyloid deposits, which over time, can cause the heart muscle to become stiff, eventually resulting in heart failure.4