Background: Transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM) is an under-recognized cause of heart failure (HF) in older adults. Delayed ATTR-CM diagnosis may result in more advanced symptoms. This study describes the journey of Japanese patients with ATTR-CM.
Methods and results: This retrospective non-interventional study used the DeSC Healthcare database. Patients aged ≥18 years at the index date (date when ATTR-CM was first diagnosed or date of first tafamidis 80 mg prescription, whichever was earlier) and who had received ≥1 tafamidis 80 mg prescription or ≥1 specific ATTR-CM diagnosis, excepting "suspected diagnosis", at any time between April 1, 2014 and August 31, 2021 were included. The median age of patients was 79.0 years, and 79.9% (n=239) were male. The most frequently observed comorbidities defined as indicating the onset of ATTR-CM were HF (87.9%), atrial fibrillation/atrial flutter (50.2%), and conduction disorders (17.2%), with a median time from onset to index date of 15.5, 14.0, and 9.0 months for each comorbidity, respectively. Lumbar spinal stenosis (23.9%), neuropathy (13.0%), and carpal tunnel syndrome (7.5%) were common extracardiac symptoms, with a median time from the appearance of these symptoms to index date of 19.0, 5.0, and 18.0 months, respectively.
Conclusions: There was a delay between the appearance of cardiac and extracardiac comorbidities of ATTR-CM and its diagnosis in real-world Japanese clinical settings, emphasizing the need for early diagnosis of ATTR-CM.
Keywords: Japan; Patient journey; Tafamidis; Transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy.