[Senile systemic amyloidosis: definition, diagnosis, why thinking about?].

Senile systemic amyloidosis (SSA) is characterized by infiltration of amyloid transthyretin fibrils in the myocardium. SSA occurs mainly (but not always) in elderly men. SSA leads to hypertrophic and/or restrictive cardiomyopathy complicated by conduction disturbances, atrial arrhythmia and systemic embolization (stroke…). That is why SSA needs a special care and to be diagnosed. Cardiac SSA diagnosis needs to exclude two other forms of cardiac amyloidosis: AL amyloidosis (light chain) and hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis (genetic testing). Scintigraphic 99mTc-DPD heart retention is observed in cardiac amyloidosis. DPD heart retention is more frequent in cardiac transthyretin amyloidosis than in cardiac AL amyloidosis. Specific treatments of cardiac TTR amyloidosis are in development.
(Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.)