The Role of Echocardiography in the Diagnosis of Cardiac Involvement in a Rare Systemic Condition: The Carcinoid Heart Disease: A Case Report and Review of Literature

Diagnostics (Basel). 2022 Nov 24;12(12):2929. doi: 10.3390/diagnostics12122929.

Abstract

Carcinoid heart disease is a rare presentation of the carcinoid syndrome, which is caused by excessive tumoral hormone production and the abundant release of vasoactive substances with systemic expressions. A 62-year-old woman presented with flushing, diarrhea, weight loss, and right-sided heart failure symptoms. Specific carcinoid heart disease features were identified using transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography at the tricuspid and pulmonic valves. Biomarkers, 99mTc-Tektrotyd scintigraphy, SPECT-CT, and a biopsy later confirmed the diagnosis, and the patient began treatment for the underlying condition.

Keywords: carcinoid heart disease; carcinoid syndrome; echocardiographic diagnosis; valvular heart disease.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

Grants and funding

This research received no external funding.