Carcinoid Heart Disease--Taking Precautions

Carcinoid heart disease is one of the major features of carcinoid syndrome and occurs in 50 to 70 percent of people with carcinoid syndrome. It is caused by excessive release of serotonin, usually by metastatic tumors in the liver. When carried through the bloodstream into the heart, the excessive serotonin can cause scarring of the heart’s inner lining, including the two right heart valves, the tricuspid and pulmonary. Symptoms may or may not be apparent and can include: fatigue, difficult or labored breathing, and/or fluid build up and swelling in the body. It is important for you to report ALL of your symptoms to your doctors. This condition may be treated by medications and, if needed, cardiac surgery. Follow this link for more detailed information.

All patients with a neuroendocrine tumor should have a baseline echocardiogram; the echocardiogram is 100% sensitive and specific for diagnosing carcinoid heart disease, and that test can determine the presence or absence of other important cardiac problems which, when treated, can prolong one’s survival. --Jerome S. Zacks, MD