ATTR-CM diagnosis still lags heart failure by more than a year
Patients with ATTR-CM wait a median of 494 days from a heart failure diagnosis to an ATTR-CM diagnosis, a study of Medicare data has found.
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Patients with ATTR-CM wait a median of 494 days from a heart failure diagnosis to an ATTR-CM diagnosis, a study of Medicare data has found.
The study of 7,770 Medicare beneficiaries, published in JAMA Cardiology in April, found about 64% were diagnosed at least six months after their heart failure diagnosis, AJMC reported. Women had higher odds of delayed diagnosis.
Annual diagnoses rose from 415 in 2016 to 1,930 in 2021, but the time to diagnosis did not improve, according to a separate AJMC report. The authors pointed to diagnostic anchoring, in which symptoms are attributed to more familiar conditions.
Pharmacists interviewed by Pharmacy Times described the disease as rarely identified rather than rare. Many patients are first diagnosed with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.
Early diagnosis matters because current treatments are designed to slow progression rather than reverse damage. ACC guidance recommends starting therapy at the earliest symptomatic stage. ICER has called for removing telemedicine barriers so patients can reach specialist centers.