J Am Coll Cardiol. 2025 Dec 17:S0735-1097(25)09921-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jacc.2025.10.021. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Timely diagnosis and treatment are critical to reduce morbidity and mortality for patients with transthyretin amyloidosis with cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM). Limited existing data suggest underdiagnosis of ATTR-CM and inequity in predictors of diagnosis patterns.
OBJECTIVE: This study sought to describe the time from heart failure (HF) diagnosis to ATTR-CM diagnosis and identify predictors for delayed diagnosis of ATTR-CM.
METHODS: This retrospective cohort study used Veterans Health Administration (VHA) data. We identified patients with HF and ATTR-CM diagnosed between 2016 and 2022 using an algorithm based on diagnoses and medications. The primary outcome was the time to diagnosis of ATTR-CM and was defined as the number of days between each patient's first HF diagnosis and their first ATTR-CM diagnosis. We also evaluated the number of days between first HF hospitalization or first loop diuretic prescription and ATTR-CM diagnosis. We used multivariable logistic regression to assess demographic, clinical, and socioeconomic predictors of time to ATTR-CM diagnosis using >6 months as a meaningful delay.
RESULTS: A total of 2,557 patients with HF and ATTR-CM were identified. The mean age at the time of ATTR-CM diagnosis was 81 years. Most veterans were male (2,544; 99.5%) and White (1,440; 56%). The median time to diagnosis to ATTR-CM was 490 days. For the 1,882 veterans with a loop diuretic prescription before ATTR-CM diagnosis, the median time between initial loop prescription and ATTR-CM diagnosis was 835 days (Q1-Q3: 250-1850). Across Department of Veterans Affairs sites, the median number of days to diagnosis ranged from 169 to 1,070 days. After adjustment, Black race (OR: 0.71; 95% CI: 0.57-0.88) and older age (OR: 0.66; 95% CI: 0.59-0.73) were associated with a shorter time to diagnosis, whereas a history of atrial fibrillation (OR: 1.21; 95% CI: 1.00-1.45), coronary artery disease (OR: 1.38; 95% CI: 1.15-1.64), or chronic kidney disease (OR: 1.79; 95% CI: 1.50-2.15) was associated with longer time to diagnosis.
CONCLUSIONS: There are clinically important delays between incident HF and diagnosis of ATTR-CM. Carrying a diagnosis of atrial fibrillation, coronary artery disease, or chronic kidney disease was associated with a longer delay to diagnosis. These findings uncover an opportunity for clinicians to consider concomitant ATTR-CM in patients with alternate etiologies for their cardiomyopathy, as expediting evaluation for ATTR-CM following HF diagnosis is critical to reduce the morbidity of this progressive condition.
PMID:41405528 | DOI:10.1016/j.jacc.2025.10.021