Cardiac Amyloidosis

With the first drug treatments for cardiac amyloidosis recently entering the market, there has been an explosion of interest to diagnose and care for these patients. It is considered a rare disease, but many experts now say it is actually just be under diagnosed. The disease is caused by protein misfolding. Normally soluble proteins in the bloodstream become insoluble and deposit abnormally in the tissues and organs throughout the body. There are three main kinds of amyloid that affect the heart, light chain amyloid (AL) and two types of transthyretin amyloid (ATTR or TTR). The first type of ATTR is hereditary, or familial amyloid, and the second is wild type, or age-related TTR amyloid. Nuclear imaging, echocardiography, CT and MRI all play roles in diagnosing amyloid and in determining the subtype, which is required for targeted treatment. 

The rapid rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has helped cardiologists, radiologists, nurses and other healthcare providers embrace precision medicine in a way that ensures more heart patients are receiving personalized care.

FDA clears AI screening tool for cardiac amyloidosis

Ultromics designed EchoGo Amyloidosis to evaluate routine echocardiogram results for signs of cardiac amyloidosis. It received the FDA's breakthrough device designation back in 2023.

doctor examines patient data on their tablet

FDA sees potential in new PET imaging agent for cardiac amyloidosis

Early evidence suggests a new PET imaging agent from California-based Attralus can help evaluate all varieties of systemic cardiac amyloidosis. It has now been granted the FDA's breakthrough therapy designation. 

Jeremy Slivnick, MD, presents at the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) 2023 meeting on how artificial intelligence (AI) can help make echocardiography better able to detect subtle signs of early cardiac amyloid disease when it is easier to treat with better outcomes. ssistant professor of medicine and an advanced cardiac imager at the University of Chicago.

AI models for cardiac amyloidosis could make a world of difference

Jeremy Slivnick, MD, spoke with Cardiovascular Business about AI's potential to transform how cardiac amyloidosis is diagnosed and treated. 

Jamie Bourque, MD, medical director of the nuclear cardiology and stress laboratory, and medical director of the echocardiography lab, at the University of Virginia, discusses a new multimodality consensus statement for imaging cardiac amyloidosis. This area has rapidly expanded over the past couple years now that there are drugs to treat the condition.

New ASNC quality metrics will support standardization of imaging for cardiac amyloidosis

Interest in cardiac amyloidosis has been on the rise in recent years. Jamie Bourque, MD, talked to Cardiovascular Business about an upcoming consensus statement focused on using cardiac imaging to evaluate patients for signs of this serious condition. 

artificial intelligence consultation

Imaging specialists partner with Pfizer to deliver AI-powered cardiac amyloidosis evaluations

Improving care for patients with cardiac amyloidosis has emerged as one of the hottest topics in cardiology. Pfizer helped kickstart that trend in 2019 when it gained FDA approval for two separate medications for the rare, but potentially fatal disease. 

Video interview with ASNC President President Mouaz Al-Mallah, MD, who explains why nuclear cardiology needs to upgrade its technology to be competitive. #ASNC #ASNC2023 #ASNC23

Previewing ASNC 2023: Why nuclear cardiology needs to evolve

ASNC President President Mouaz Al-Mallah, MD, said nuclear cardiology needs to upgrade old imaging systems and embrace new technology to deliver better value for patients. 

Purvi Parwani, MD, director of echocardiography, Loma Linda University Medical Center, explains the trend where heart failure imaging guidelines are driving a rising use of mixed multimodality imaging. #ASE #ASE2023

Multimodality imaging helps cardiologists manage heart failure patients—with an assist from AI

Purvi Parwani, MD, discussed the trend toward multimodality imaging for heart failure management. All modalities have their own weaknesses, she explained. 

Roosha Parikh, MD, advanced imaging cardiologist, St. Francis Heart Hospital, Long Island, New York, and a clinical assistant professor of medicine at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, presented in one of the ASE 2023 amyloid sessions and spoke with Cardiovascular Business about the disease.

Amyloidosis now a hot topic in cardiac imaging due to new drug treatment

Advanced cardiac imager Roosha Parikh, MD, explained that cardiac amyloidosis is regularly misdiagnosed. It can often be identified in echocardiography results, however, if physicians know how to identify it. 

Around the web

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The new technology shows early potential to make a significant impact on imaging workflows and patient care. 

Richard Heller III, MD, RSNA board member and senior VP of policy at Radiology Partners, offers an overview of policies in Congress that are directly impacting imaging.