Amyloid Cardiomyopathy: All that Sparkles is Amyloid

Abstract

A 73 year old female with no past medical history presented to our emergency department (ED) with gradually worsening shortness of breath for a few weeks. She denied any associated complaints of chest pain, palpitations or dizziness. On physical exam, the patient had bilateral rales at the lung bases. The electrocardiogram showed low voltage complexes with right bundle branch block and left anterior fascicular block (Figure 1). The laboratory work came back significant for an elevated BNP (1452 pg/ml) with a normal complete blood count, serum chemistry and negative cardiac biomarkers. The patient was treated with intravenous diuretics in the ED and admitted to a telemetry floor.

Keywords

• Cardiac amyloidosis
• amyloid cardiomyopathy