slide-26 Is Amyloidosis Rare? • All types are under-diagnosed • AL is uncommon: ~ 3000 new cases per year in US • Hereditary TTR – most forms are rare • Val 122 Ile mutation present in 3-4% of Blacks and Cubans • Under-recognized cause of heart failure, often mis-diagnosed as hypertensive heart disease • Senile (wild-type TTR) - much more common than previously thought – important cause of AF and HF in men