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. 

The central illustration from a study that shows the impact of ECG AI algorithm study case and control selection to train artificial intelligence to better screening patients for cardiac amyloidosis. Image courtesy of JACC Advances.

Using ECG AI to find the cardiac amyloidosis needles in the haystack

Early detection of cardiac amyloidosis is leads to the best outcomes, but it is often missed until later stages. AI is being developed to help detect these patients earlier using ECG and echo.

Francisco Arabia, MD, Banner Health, explains trends in total artificial hearts (TAH) in advanced heart failure patients and what is coming in new technology.

Total artificial hearts: Exploring the future of heart transplant technology with a renowned surgeon

Francisco Arabia, MD, spoke with Cardiovascular Business about the present and future of total artificial heart technology.

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. 

Patisiran, marketed under the name Onpattro

FDA chooses not to approve patisiran for treating ATTR cardiomyopathy

The announcement came just weeks after an FDA subcommittee voted in favor of approval. 

Around the web

Ron Blankstein, MD, professor of radiology, Harvard Medical School, explains the use of artificial intelligence to detect heart disease in non-cardiac CT exams.

Eleven medical societies have signed on to a consensus statement aimed at standardizing imaging for suspected cardiovascular infections.

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