title: Clinical experience with cardiac amyloidosis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Amyloidosis is a systemic disease potentially afflicting the heart. In this study we retrospectively studied patients presenting with major cardiac amyloidotic involvement.
  
  
  RESULTS
  From 1997 until 2000, eight patients with major cardiac involvement of amyloidosis resulting in heart failure were diagnosed. All patients presented with heart failure. Diagnostic work-up, clinical, electrocardiographic, echocardiographic characteristics and treatment modalities are presented. Seven patients with acquired (both primary AL and postinflammatory AA) amyloidosis out of a total of eight patients died within one year after diagnosis, as a result of intractable cardiac failure due to both systolic and diastolic left ventricular dysfunction despite state-of-the-art medical treatment of heart failure. Only one patient with hereditary amyloidosis undergoing liver transplantation survived.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Despite optimal medical cardiac failure treatment, acquired cardiac amyloidosis carries an ominous prognosis probably because patients are already in a very advanced stage of the disease at presentation.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Cardiology, St. Jan Hospital, Brugge, Belgium.
authors.forename: Ann
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Goeminne
authors.forename: Luc
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Missault
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bauwens
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: De Pauw
authors.forename: Johan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: De Sutter
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000686:Amyloidosis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D004562:Electrocardiography; D004586:Electrophoresis; D005260:Female; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018487:Ventricular Dysfunction, Left / Q000209:etiology