ECHO, ECho, echo...

  More on echocardiograms (ECHOs) with help from my ECHO tech friend. A huge thank you to her for these references. 

 But first, a bit about the heart. The heart is a muscle that pumps blood through the body. With each beat, the heart pumps blood through the body’s cardiovascular system. The cardiovascular system is made up of the heart and a system of blood vessels (the circulatory system) that help circulate blood. The blood provides oxygen and nutrients to all the organs and tissues in the body. It also delivers carbon dioxide to the lungs and the lungs then exhale to remove carbon dioxide from the body. At the same time, blood picks up waste products that are filtered out of the body by the kidneys. 

• The heart is located between the lungs and pumps blood throughout the body's cardiovascular system. 
• The heart has four chambers. 
• The upper two chambers are the right atrium and left atrium. These are called "collecting chambers" because they collect the blood as it returns to the heart.
• The lower two chambers are the right ventricle and left ventricle. These are called "pumping chambers" because they pump the blood out of the heart to where it needs to go.
• The right and left sides of the heart are divided by a wall called the septum. 
• You can feel your pulse each time the ventricle pumps by feeling your wrist or side of your neck.

 I don't yet know how my ECHO results compare to my January ECHO, but here is some information to better educate yourself on why ECHOs are used to assess cancer therapeutics-related cardiac dysfunction. Cancer-therapeutics can be cardiotoxic (can cause damage to the heart) and require monitoring to assess for need for pause or change in plan of care.

 For me, it is my Herceptin and therefore, having an ECHO every 3 months will continue for my full year of treatment, and then beyond due to radiation therapy. As always, anything posted here is related to my type of cancer and situation. The full articles review more information for others going through other types of cancer therapeutics. Feel free to ask your doctor about your specific medications and if monitoring is needed for your or your loved one's care.

 Two amazing articles that go very in depth on cancer therapeutics-related cardiac dysfunction:

• Management of Cancer-Therapy-Induced Left Ventricular Dysfunction: Can the Guidelines Help?

• Practical guidance for echocardiography for cancer therapeutics-related cardiac dysfunction

This algorithm (B) is specifically for patients who have never received anthracyclines. 

You can find algorithm A in the link if you have received anthracyclines (such as Daunorubicin, Doxorubicin, Epirubicin, Idarubicin, Mitoxantrone, Valrubicin, etc.).

 Strain is another part of an ECHO that is reviewed when undergoing monitoring for cardiotoxicity. This website is very neat to see strain imaging and I will not even pretend to educate on all of it, but in case you're a visual person, this could help to visualize the difference in how the heart moves when there is pathological strain on the heart.

TL;DR

• I don't have an update on how my ECHO from yesterday compares to my ECHO from January, but hoping for good things. 
• A bit about the heart
• The heart is located between the lungs and pumps blood throughout the body's cardiovascular system. 
• The heart has four chambers. 
• The upper two chambers are the right atrium and left atrium. These are called "collecting chambers" because they collect the blood as it returns to the heart.
• The lower two chambers are the right ventricle and left ventricle. These are called "pumping chambers" because they pump the blood out of the heart to where it needs to go.
• My Herceptin requires monitoring of my heart via echocardiograms (ECHOs) every 3 months per guidelines.
• There are specific comparisons of measurements of function and size of my heart that will determine maintaining my current schedule of infusions, pausing treatment, or changing my treatment course. This is all dependent on how my heart handles my specific targeted therapy.
• Radiotherapy (radiation therapy) will also require monitoring of my heart for years after my treatment is complete (hopefully for good).
• Strain is a neat concept and can be seen visually on this website.