Diagnosis and treatment of cardiac amyloidosis: a position statement of the ESC Working Group on Myocardial and Pericardial Diseases
Pablo García‐Pavía, Claudio Rapezzi, Yehuda Adler, Michael Arad, Cristina Basso, Antonio Brucato, Ivana Burazor, Alida L.P. Caforio, Thibaud Damy, Urs Eriksson, Marianna Fontana, Julian D. Gillmore, Esther González-López, Martha Grogan, Stéphane Heymans, Massimo Imazio, Ingrid Kindermann, Arnt V. Kristen, Matthew J. Maurer, Giampaolo Merlini, Antonis Pantazis, Sabine Pankuweit, Angelos G. Rigopoulos, Aleš Linhart
Abstract
Cardiac amyloidosis is a serious and progressive infiltrative disease that is caused by the deposition of amyloid fibrils at the cardiac level. It can be due to rare genetic variants in the hereditary forms or as a consequence of acquired conditions. Thanks to advances in imaging techniques and the possibility of achieving a non-invasive diagnosis, we now know that cardiac amyloidosis is a more frequent disease than traditionally considered. In this position paper the Working Group on Myocardial and Pericardial Disease proposes an invasive and non-invasive definition of cardiac amyloidosis, addresses clinical scenarios and situations to suspect the condition and proposes a diagnostic algorithm to aid diagnosis. Furthermore, we also review how to monitor and treat cardiac amyloidosis, in an attempt to bridge the gap between the latest advances in the field and clinical practice.