Cardiac amyloidosis: contribution of nuclear medicine

Abstract

The amyloidoses are a group of diseases caused by a pathological extracellular deposit of fibrillar and insoluble protein material called amyloid. Cardiac amyloidosis (CA) is a rare entity (underdiagnosed) and progressive in the general population, it is linked to an error in the folding of certain proteins which are deposited as amyloid fibers in the extracellular space between myocytes, which causes a restrictive cardiomyopathy producing symptoms of heart failure. Even though the definite diagnostic and gold standard for CA traditionally is an endomyocardial biopsy, recent advances in cardiac imaging, diagnostic strategies, and therapies have improved its diagnosis and treatment. Centellogram with Pirofosfato (TcPYP) is now considered a “noninvasive molecular biopsy” used to diagnose CA ATTR.