People with more severe heart failure may experience shortness of breath when they lie down. The medical term for this symptom is orthopnea (say “or-THAWP-nee-uh”). The severity of this symptom usually depends on how flat you are lying—the flatter you lie, the more you feel short of breath.
If the amyloidosis affects the kidneys, their ability to filter the blood becomes impaired. Protein leaks from the blood into the urine. The loss of protein from the blood can cause fluid to leak out of the blood vessels, resulting in swelling in the feet, ankles and calves.
A psychologist is a mental health professional who uses psychological evaluations and talk therapy to help people learn to better cope with life and relationship issues and mental health conditions. [source: Cleveland Clinic]
Social workers assist a range of patient populations and provide services in areas including mental health conditions and addictions, chronic disease, children and youth illnesses, geriatrics illnesses, grief, trauma, parenting issues, palliative care, dementia and other neurological issues, financial stressors, housing issues and a broad range of other general psychosocial issues (Ashcroft et al. 2018; McGregor …
Typical ECG of a patient with cardiac AL amyloidosis showing low QRS voltages in the limb leads and pseudoinfarction pattern in the chest leads. (from Updates in Cardiac Amyloidosis: A Review; Banypersad S et al; J Am Heart Assoc 2012)
Peripheral neuropathy is a common manifestation of AL amyloidosis, and the incidence of peripheral neuropathy in AL amyloidosis varies from 9.6 to 35% (3–5). The typical pattern of amyloid neuropathy is symmetrical, length-dependent, lower-limb predominant, slowly progressing polyneuropathy, with severe pain. [source: NIH]
Tafamidis is an oral medication for treating cardiomyopathy and peripheral neuropathy due to transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTR). It is a transthyretin stabilizer and has been shown to reduce disease progression and mortality significantly.
In an 18-month clinical study, AMVUTTRA-treated patients showed significant improvement in nerve function and quality of life at 9 months and continued to improve throughout the study, compared with those who received placebo in a similar study. [source: NIH]