When most people think about heart disease, they think about symptoms like shortness of breath, chest pain, or changes in the way their heart beats. What they don’t think about is pain in their wrists and hands. However, carpal tunnel syndrome is just one of many unusual symptoms of heart disease.

As it turns out, carpal tunnel syndrome can be a symptom of a type of heart disease associated with a rare disease called amyloidosis. Here’s what you need to know about the connection between carpal tunnel syndrome and your heart.

What Is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

The carpal tunnel is a small passage on the palm side of your hand. The median nerve runs through it, surrounded by bones and ligaments. When something happens in that tunnel that puts pressure on the median nerve, the condition that results is carpal tunnel syndrome.

Most people living with carpal tunnel syndrome find that their symptoms develop slowly. They may notice tingling and numbness. This is most common in the thumb and all of the fingers except the pinky finger. However, the sensations can also travel up your arm. Some people feel something like an electric shock in the same areas. This can be very painful.

Carpal tunnel syndrome may also cause weakness in the hand and fingers. You may drop objects when you try to use your thumb and fingers to hold them, for instance. This can be related to numbness but may occur separately, too.

What Is Amyloidosis?

Amyloidosis is a rare condition that can affect the entire body. It occurs when proteins called amyloids build up in different places in the body. These protein clumps can cause different problems depending on where they develop. When amyloidosis affects the heart, it’s referred to as cardiac amyloidosis.

There are several types of amyloidosis that can affect your heart. The most common one is AL amyloidosis. The second is called transthyretin amyloidosis, or TTR amyloidosis.

There are two types of transthyretin amyloidosis. One is hereditary amyloidosis (hATTR amyloidosis or familial amyloidosis). If you have the hereditary type of amyloidosis, you have changes in the genes that produce transthyretin. These genetic mutations lead to amyloid buildup in various areas of your body, including your heart. TTR amyloidosis can also occur without changes to your genes. This is called wild-type amyloidosis. If you have heart problems associated with TTR amyloidosis, it’s called transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM).

When amyloid proteins build up in your heart, they make the walls of your heart stiff, which can make it harder for your heart to pump all the blood your body needs. Over time, this can lead to heart failure. In fact, cardiac amyloidosis often gets missed when people are diagnosed with heart failure.

Sometimes, like for one MyHeartDiseaseTeam member, the amyloidosis diagnosis comes first. They explained, “At one appointment, I was showing signs of potential heart failure and was hospitalized to monitor it. It may have been the result of the amyloidosis that had been diagnosed earlier that month.”

How Is Amyloidosis Related to Carpal Tunnel?

The same amyloid deposits that collect in the heart with amyloidosis can build up in other places in your body, including within your nervous system. The median nerve in your wrist is part of that system. One common symptom of amyloid buildup in your nervous system is carpal tunnel syndrome.

Some MyHeartDiseaseTeam members have been tested for amyloidosis after being diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome. One member shared, “I have got carpal tunnel syndrome, so I’m going to have tests [on my heart].”

Carpal Tunnel and Diagnosing Amyloidosis

Carpal tunnel syndrome may actually be useful in screening people for cardiac amyloidosis. In one study, it appeared before heart problems regularly enough that researchers suggested it be part of deciding who should be tested for amyloidosis. In fact, research estimates that about half of people who later go on to have heart problems related to amyloidosis have been previously diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome. The risk of an amyloidosis diagnosis is up to three times higher in those who have carpal tunnel syndrome.

It is worth noting that people with amyloidosis usually have carpal tunnel symptoms in both hands. In one study, every person with amyloidosis and carpal tunnel problems had carpal tunnel symptoms in both hands. Those who only had carpal tunnel on one side usually found that it was caused by other things, like a broken wrist or an inflammatory condition.

Additionally, most people who have carpal tunnel syndrome and go on to develop amyloidosis have other signs of amyloidosis at the same time. They usually have one or more of the following issues:

• Sudden blood pressure drops
• Inability to exercise
• Burning foot pain
• Diarrhea
• Constipation
• Erectile dysfunction

If you have been diagnosed with carpal tunnel and it’s on both sides, or if you have any of the other issues noted above, talk to your doctor about additional tests. Treatments can slow amyloidosis progression. One member of MyHeartDiseaseTeam shared, “I had a visit with my heart doctor that specializes in cardiac amyloidosis, and I came away feeling really great. No cure for the disease but taking a drug that slows the progression.”

However, it’s important to be diagnosed early so these medications have a better chance of working. Paying attention to carpal tunnel symptoms may help ensure an early diagnosis.

How To Treat Carpal Tunnel Symptoms

There are a wide variety of ways you can treat carpal tunnel syndrome. The treatment option you and your healthcare provider choose may depend on how severe the condition is for you. Your provider will also look at what you need to do with your hands every day and any other medical conditions you might have.

If you’re just starting to notice symptoms of carpal tunnel problems, there are a few things you can try. When you can, avoid the actions that cause your symptoms. This may not be possible if you use your hands for work, though. You can also use ice on the carpal tunnel area to reduce swelling and take breaks to rest your hands.

Talk to your doctor as soon as you start to notice symptoms. Starting treatment early may help you avoid surgery. Your doctor can prescribe medications that help treat any swelling in your carpal tunnel. They can also give you splints that hold your wrists in the right place so the median nerve doesn’t experience pressure.

Carpal tunnel surgery can help you feel better, too. This procedure relieves the pressure on your median nerve so it can function normally again. If your body continues building up amyloid proteins in the carpal tunnel, this may be what you need to feel better again.

Talk With Others Who Understand

On MyHeartDiseaseTeam, the social network for people with heart disease and their loved ones, more than 62,000 members come together to ask questions, give advice, and share their stories with others who understand life with heart disease.

Have you been affected by carpal tunnel syndrome? What did you and your cardiology team talk about regarding amyloidosis? Share your experience in the comments below, or start a conversation by posting on your Activities page.