Pfizer Grant Will Support Training for Cardiologists in Diagnosing Serious Heart Condition

Sabahat Bokhari, a Rutgers professor of medicine and an amyloidosis expert, will direct a fellowship at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital

Pfizer has awarded $80,000 to Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (RWJMS) to fund an Amyloidosis Fellowship at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH), an RWJBarnabas Health facility. 

Amyloidosis expert Sabahat Bokhari directs the Cardiac Amyloidosis and Cardiomyopathy Center at RWJUH and RWJMS and is professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiovascular Disease and Hypertension and program director of the medical school’s Advanced Cardiac Imaging Fellowship Program. A professor of medicine, Bokhari will direct the Rutgers RWJMS Amyloidosis Fellowship.

Amyloidosis is a condition caused by an abnormal protein that accumulates in organs such as the heart, kidneys, nerves or musculoskeletal system. It is often misdiagnosed or undiagnosed because of its subtle symptoms and multiple organ involvement. There are two common types of amyloidosis in the United States, light chain (AL) and transthyretin (ATTR).  The differences between the two are the severity and potential life expectancies of patients if the condition has reached the heart and is not identified and treated.  Without proper care the average life expectancies for AL amyloidosis and ATTR amyloidosis patients are 6 months and 2.6 to 4.8 years, respectively.

Bokhari said the condition is significantly underdiagnosed. In fact, 25 percent of cardiac patients over 80 will likely have a form of amyloidosis in their hearts; 13 percent of patients with heart failure have amyloid proteins in their systems and 3.5 percent of African Americans, or 1.5 million, are genetically predisposed to carry a marker for the disease.

Bokhari’s mission is to spread awareness among the medical community and to train cardiologists so the disease can be diagnosed early. Without treatment it will be fatal within months or a few years, depending on the type of disease, he said.

“The work at RWJMS and RWJUH to support the center, which has treated more than 600 patients since 2022, has been tremendous,” Bokhari said. “These are among the highest patient numbers in the country. The Pfizer fellowship grant will enable us to train cardiologists in amyloidosis, which will increase our capacity to identify it, treat patients and save lives.”

The Pfizer fellowship grant will enable us to train cardiologists in amyloidosis, which will increase our capacity to identify it, treat patients and save lives.

Sabahat Bokhari

Director, Cardiac Amyloidosis and Cardiomyopathy Center

Partho P. Sengupta, Henry Rutgers professor of Cardiology and chief of cardiovascular medicine at RWJMS, chief of Cardiology at RWJUH added, “We are fortunate to have world renowned faculty like Dr. Sabahat Bokhari join and lead our programs. This prestigious grant reflects his international reputation and our role as a leading academic center that is committed to training the next generation of physician leaders.”

Bokhari pioneered the development of a noninvasive imaging method using technetium-pyrophosphate, which is used worldwide and recommended by the American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association and American Society of Nuclear Cardiology for the evaluation of cardiac transthyretin amyloidosis.

For more information visit the Cardiac Amyloidosis and Cardiomyopathy Center.