Managing Cardiac Amyloidosis in a Rural Cardiology Practice: Bridging Gaps in Specialized Evaluation and Disease-Modifying Treatment
Cardiac amyloidosis is an underdiagnosed condition characterized by the deposition of amyloid fibrils in the myocardium.Its timely diagnosis remains challenging, particularly in a rural cardiology setting where access to advanced imaging, tissue biopsy, and genetic evaluation is often limited.Early initiation of disease-modifying therapy is critical; however, real-world guidance for clinicians practicing outside tertiary centers is sparse.We describe three consecutive patients diagnosed with cardiac amyloidosis in a rural cardiology clinic, each presenting with non-specific heart failure symptoms that masked classic red-flag features of cardiac amyloidosis.Despite resource constraints, all patients were effectively evaluated using a streamlined diagnostic pathway.Disease-modifying therapy was initiated promptly.This case series demonstrates that early recognition and effective management of cardiac amyloidosis can be achieved in rural settings using a practical and reproducible protocol.We present our experience as a real-world framework to help rural clinicians identify and treat amyloidosis at the earliest opportunity with the aim of improving patient outcomes.
Authors
- Arjun Khunger
- Mohammad Karim
- Nikhil Agrawal
- Ankita Kapoor
Institutions
- Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center (US)
- UPMC Hamot (US)
- University at Buffalo, State University of New York (US)
- University of Jamestown (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Cureus
- Published
- 2026-09-13
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.116194
- Primary Topic
- Amyloidosis: Diagnosis, Treatment, Outcomes
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00