Table 1 Overview of challenges and possible solutions to the burden of cardiac amyloidosis on the African continent
Challenge | Possible solutions |
|---|---|
Lack of data | Establish registries to capture burden of disease including the following: • Cardiomyopathy registries • Autopsy series • Diastolic heart failure cohorts • Prospective treatment series |
Lack of trained manpower | • Establish partnerships in training — for example, the Yale-Heart Institute of the Caribbean collaboration • Discourage brain drain through national policy changes • Encourage health workers to stay in their home countries by augmenting their paychecks |
Access to diagnostic technology | Establish diagnostic programs that utilize affordable technology to diagnose cardiac amyloid at large scale • Strain echocardiography • Pyrophosphate nuclear scans • Genetic testing |
Access to new treatments | • Discuss with pharmaceutical companies to subsidize the high cost of new treatments for cardiac amyloidosis • Additional funding could be sourced from philanthropic organizations |
Lack of awareness | • Extensive health promotion and awareness campaigns using all available mass media tools including radio, television, social media, podcasts |