In people over 80 with a rare heart disease called transthyretin amyloidosis, taking the drug tafamidis helped them live longer. After three years, about 57% of those on the medicine were still alive compared to 40% who didn’t get it. The benefit was seen even in patients older than 85, especially when the disease was caught early.

Cardiac transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTR-CM) is a life-threatening cardiomyopathy. Tafamidis has been demonstrated to be an effective treatment. Our aim was to analyze clinical characteristics and survival of patients with ATTR-CM aged ≥80 years diagnosed after November 2018, treated with tafamidis 80/61 mg, and compare them with a non-treated group diagnosed before that date. Data from the two groups were extracted from the Healthcare European Amyloidosis Registry (HEAR). Propensity score matching was used to adjust for baseline differences between the groups. Kaplan-Meier survival curves and Cox regression analyses were applied to assess survival outcomes. Out of 1380 patients, 1194 were treated with tafamidis 80/61 mg. Treated patients were significantly less severe at baseline, with a lower occurrence of NYHA class III-IV compared to the untreated group (24 vs. 46 %, p < 0.001). The median NT-proBNP at baseline was lower in the treated group (2330 vs. 4854 pg/ml, p < 0.001), as was the average level of high-sensitivity troponin T (55 vs. 74 ng/ml, p < 0.001), and the interventricular septal thickness (16 vs. 18 mm, p < 0.001). The 3-year survival rate for treated patients was 57 %, and 40 % for untreated patients. In the treated group, the 3-year survival rate was 68 % for patients aged 80-85 years and 58 % for those over 85 years. Survival rates were confirmed after propensity score analyses. This study demonstrates that tafamidis provides significant survival benefits for elderly patients with ATTR-CM, even in those over 85 years old. The findings emphasize the importance of early diagnosis and treatment.