Position Statement on Diagnosis and Treatment of Cardiac Amyloidosis – 2021

1. Introduction

Significant advances in understanding cardiac amyloidosis (CA) have been made in recent years, leading to a thorough reformulation of its clinical significance. In addition to convincing evidence that CA is a relatively common cause of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), we are witnessing the emergence of specific therapies that can change the course of the disease and prolong the survival of affected patients.

In parallel, relevant advances in cardiovascular imaging techniques have greatly contributed to earlier and more accurate identification of the disease. Cardiac scintigraphy with bone-seeking radiotracers has allowed non-invasive diagnosis of transthyretin (TTR) cardiac amyloidosis (ATTR-CA), eliminating the need for endomyocardial biopsy, which has greatly simplified the diagnostic flow.

[…]