Combination therapy can prolong life in severe heart disease, reports research

The analysis now published showed that both aortic valve replacement and treatment with the drug tafamidis for amyloidosis were associated with a significantly lower risk of death. The survival benefit was highest in patients who received both forms of treatment. "Our results even show that patients with both conditions who received valve replacement and specific amyloidosis therapy had similar long-term survival rates to people with aortic stenosis without amyloidosis," emphasises study leader Christian Nitsche.

Targeted tests necessary

Both aortic stenosis and cardiac amyloidosis impair the heart's pumping function and can lead to death if left untreated. Targeted therapy can slow the progression of amyloidosis, while valve replacement treats the mechanical stress caused by the narrowed heart valve. Around ten percent of patients with aortic stenosis also have amyloidosis, but this is often not diagnosed in everyday clinical practice. "Our findings also suggest that patients with severe aortic valve stenosis should be screened for amyloidosis so that we can offer them targeted life-prolonging treatment options," emphasises Christian Nitsche.

Reference:

Christian Nitsche, Stephan Dobner, Hannah R Rosenblum, Kush P Patel, Simone Longhi, Ali Yilmaz, Marco Merlo, Maria Papathanasiou, Jan Griffin, Marish I F J Oerlemans, Francisco Gama, Ashraf Hamdan, Andrew D Kelion, Andreas Schuster, Sigita Glaveckaité, Nuriye Akyol, Aldostefano Porcari, Lara Schlender, Teresa Capovilla, Maximilian Autherith, Laurenz Hauptmann, Kseniya Halavina, João L Cavalcante, Marianna Fontana, Paul R Scully, James C Moon, Julia Mascherbauer, Robin Ristl, Elena Biagini, Stefan Stortecky, Matthew S Maurer, Thomas A Treibel, AS-Amyloidosis Consortium, Cardiac transthyretin amyloidosis treatment improves outcomes after aortic valve replacement for severe stenosis, European Heart Journal, 2025;, ehaf362, https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehaf362.