Low Albumin, Heavy Hearts: Role of Hypoalbuminemia in Infiltrative Cardiomyopathies: A Narrative Review.

Infiltrative cardiomyopathies, a subset of restrictive cardiomyopathies, are rare but clinically essential disorders often lead to heart failure, which is a major global health issue. Although interest in these conditions is growing, they remain poorly understood due to their low occurrence, vague clinical signs, and frequent underreporting. Advances in diagnosis have been made through multimodal imaging techniques-including cardiac magnetic resonance, nuclear imaging, and computed tomography-as well as genetic testing and new biomarkers for amyloidosis. However, a universal biomarker that applies across the entire range of infiltrative cardiomyopathies has yet to be identified. This review discusses albumin, a vital regulator of physiological balance, as a promising biomarker candidate. In this narrative review, we explore disease mechanisms, identify knowledge gaps in research, and suggest new connections to direct future studies and enhance diagnostic accuracy.