OBJECTIVES: “Amyloidosis” refers to the abnormal deposition of protein aggregates within tissues and organs. Amyloidosis affects various parts of the body. Due to the rarity of ATTR amyloidosis, the burden of illness on patients and society has not been well documented. We aimed to estimate the social costs and health losses associated with ATTR-CM patients during 2022.

METHODS: The burden of disease and cost of illness were estimated using a prevalence-based approach. The quality of life of patients with ATTR-CM was measured using Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire. Costs of illness were estimated using a Payer perspective and included direct costs for diagnostics, hospitalizations, medical activities and pharmacotherapy. The main sources of information were hospitals database; expert opinions; specialized clinical trials data for patients with ATTR-CM in Bulgaria; medicine consumption and price data.

RESULTS: Results show that direct costs per patient per year are BGN 6,755.32 with the greatest weight being given to the management of severe events due to the advanced stage of the disease. The cost estimate for ATTR-CM patients shows that the economic burden of the disease totals BGN 54,042.56 per year, of which the hospitalization and follow-up costs are the highest - BGN 34,315.20.

CONCLUSIONS: Correctly diagnosing ATTR-CM patients leads to 10.1% reduction in cardiovascular hospitalizations during the first year. The correct diagnosis was found to reduce mortality in ATTR-CM patients by 28.5%, 15.4%, 8.1% and 3.9% at the end of years 1, 5, 10 and 15, respectively. These results confirm the extreme economic burden associated with the amyloidosis.