Common back ailment could be sign of heart failure (Lumbar spinal stenosis)

Medical Xpress / Columbia University Irving Medical Center / Journal of the American Geriatrics Soc. ^ | August 31, 2022 | Mathew S. Maurer et al,

[ConservativeMind]

Researchers have found a link between a common back ailment and a type of heart failure.

Once considered rare, the heart disease, called transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy, is now thought to be a more common but underdiagnosed cause of heart failure. The disease is caused by proteins called transthyretin that can clump together and create amyloid deposits in the heart, the spine, ligaments, and other tissues. In the heart, the deposits stiffen the walls and reduce the amount of blood the heart can pump.

Until recently, no treatment was available for this type of heart failure. But in 2019, the FDA approved a drug that prevents transthyretin amyloid deposition.

"We have a good treatment that reduces the risk of dying from this condition, and now we clearly need a better way to screen people and find those at risk," says Maurer. "Because the drug does not reduce existing amyloid, it's most effective when taken early in the disease."

Recent studies suggest that many patients diagnosed with lumbar spinal stenosis develop transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy five to 15 years after their stenosis diagnosis.

"Many spinal stenosis patients undergo spinal surgery, and it is easy to take a sample of tissue removed during the procedure and test it for transthyretin amyloid," Maurer says.

To see if such screening would be worthwhile, Maurer's team at Columbia analyzed spinal tissue from 47 patients (ages 62 to 76) undergoing spinal decompression surgery. The researchers detected amyloid in the spine of 34% of patients; two-thirds had transthyretin amyloid, while the amyloid content of the other third could not be identified. Among those with confirmed transthyretin amyloid (10 patients), one had already developed cardiac amyloidosis and subsequently began treatment with tafamidis. The other nine patients are being closely monitored by their physicians for future heart problems.

[ConservativeMind]

A strange relationship identified between body parts provides a way to prevent future problems.

[ConservativeMind]

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[Bulwyf]

Lol! Funny stuff.

[ConservaTexan]

Are these the same researchers who have yet to find a link between the clot shot and dropping dead? Just asking.

[kiryandil]

Thanks for doing these posts that you do. :)

[Nifster]

The shin bone’s connected to the knee bone…..

[The Westerner]

FDA approved medication: tafamidis. “Must be taken early in the course of the disease.” Cardiology meets orthopedic issues like spinal stenosis and carpal tunnel per this article.