Senile Cardiac Amyloidosis

Abstract

Despite its common occurrence in the aged, senile cardiac amyloidosis is often overlooked because it is overshadowed by the degenerative lesions that cause coronary atherosclerosis. At present the most important diagnostic aids are a high index of suspicion, recognition of the pathognomonic nodules in the endocardium of the atria, and use of routine tinctorial methods to determine presence of amyloid in persons over 65 years old.