“Serotonin seems to be the single most damaging substance in carcinoid heart disease,” explains JEROME S. ZACKS, MD. Dr. Zacks, a cardiologist, is a member of the Carcinoid/ Neuroendocrine Tumor Center at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, a team lead by Richard R.P. Warner, MD, Professor of Medicine at Mt. Sinai and Medical Director of The Carcinoid Cancer Foundation. Dr. Zacks gave a fascinating presentation on carcinoid heart disease during the November 2009 Carcinoid/ Neuroendocrine Patient Conference presented by CCAN, the Carcinoid Cancer Awareness Network, in Long Island, NY.
Dr. Zacks recommends, “If one has a diagnosis of CARCINOID, it would be prudent to ask if the level of SEROTONIN has been found to be abnormally high. A high serotonin level signals the need to check the heart for evidence of damage from scarring.”
For patients with CARCINOID SYNDROME the concentration of blood serotonin correlates with the severity of the symptoms of the syndrome — flushing, diarrhea, and wheezing – and with the potential damage to the heart. When carcinoid has metastasized to the liver, the tumors there may produce a high concentration of serotonin which flows directly into the right side of the heart.
To read more more about carcinoid heart disease, including one patient’s story, sign up for The Carcinoid Cancer Foundation’s e-newsletter and we will send you the full blog article. Sign up here: https://signup.e2ma.net/signup/1404820/32056/
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To contact Dr. Jerome Zacks call 212-289-8400. His office is located at 1120 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10128. In addition to his work at Mt. Sinai, Dr. Zacks serves as a Medical Advisor for The Carcinoid Cancer Foundation.
For more information about Dr. Zacks, click here:
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The complete conference proceedings from the November 2009 CCAN Carcinoid/Neuroendocrine Patient Conference will be available for viewing online after January 1, 2010 at the Carcinoid Cancer Awareness Network’s website, www.carcinoidawareness.org.
