TTR Cardiac Amyloid-How Common and How to Diagnose

There are two main types of cardiac amyloidosis. One is a medical emergency involving light chain amyloid. The source of the amyloid is the bone marrow, which secretes excessive amounts of monoclonal protein that infiltrate the myocardium and cause an acute necrotic infiltrative and restrictive cardiomyopathy. In the second type, transthyretin (TTR) amyloidosis, the source of the protein is the liver. The course of TTR amyloidosis occurs over years.