Heart damage from chemo LVEF reduced

Hi GarageYoga

While I haven’t experienced heart damage from chemo I noticed that you haven’t had any replies yet so I thought I’d reply to.you to move you to the top of the discussion. Hopefully someone will be along shortly with an answer for you.

Best wishes

Daisy53

Thanks Daisy

still no replies, maybe I’m just really unlucky and unusual getting heart damage 

Hi GarageYoga I had chemo and phesgo and I did have some unusual signs on my echo scan and I can see that my heart rate was a bit different on my Apple Watch, but nothing too significant.  I am still waiting for my final echo scan post phesgo but the cardiologist doesn't seem overly concerned. I hope your next echo is positive, best wishes 

Hi Irish Girl

thanks for your reply. 

I will keep my fingers crossed your results are good. 

I have another Echo on Monday. Depending on that they will give me cardiac support. Idiot registrar didn’t check the initial % and also reported the wrong second Echo % …

. Thank goodness the oncologist found out when I kept asking what the pre chemo % had been, so she then saw the mistake and has a plan. 

scary stuff isn’t it, heart issues. 

Hi, I completed chemo January just gone, radiotherapy in March, already on  phesgo 18 rounds and two more to go ! In August on routine echo they found mitral valve prolapse, had been fine before then , ‘your heart is fine ‘ now experiencing palpitations, feel crap and referred to cardiologist. I queried due to phesgo as that’s the risk you take but oncologist says no, but my heart is racing most days now and feeling very weary ! I’m not convinced

As long as the % are ok which is all the oncologist looks at they’ll carry on with treatment 

Hi Parisa

Oh no, how awful. I hope the cardiologist can do something to really help.

They do push on don't they, regardless. I had a blood pressure crisis just over a week ago which I imagine could maybe have been prevented had they noticed my 10% drop in LVEF over the summer. 

I have had palpitations since EC chemo, which they ignored. My heart rate is constantly at least 20-30 beats per minute faster than before I started chemo. Sometimes even faster. 

Phesgo most definitely can cause various heart problems. There are warnings about both of the MABs in that stuff. I also felt that EC chemo was cardio toxic, presumably the Epirubicin. 

Good luck at your cardio appointment. x

I ended up in A&E after every EC chemo but my oncologist pushed through the four cycles.  My blood pressure pre treatment was about 123/75 but has been around 145/85 ever since. My baseline heart scan was done 4 days after surgery when I still had my drain in place, so not properly recovered. I do get breathless sometimes (3.5 years later), and get palpitations occasionally.  Remember that heart issues from the E part of EC can develop years later.  There's a lot of research into reducing the risk,  so it might be worth a search. Good luck!

Hi,  I had my first cycle of FEC almost 3 weeks ago.  3 days after I started to experience light palpitations.  Ended up in hospital 9 days later after a really bad attack of palpatations.  It took nearly 7 hours for them to calm my heart down.  They administered antibiotics and magnesium intravenously and gave me a beta blocker.  I was in hospital for 3 days attached to a heart monitor which was being watched down on the cardio ward.  My heart was very erratic and even paused for 4.5 secs at one point.  After much discussion between doctors they think the PICC line may have been put in a little bit too far and so they pulled it out by 1cm.  Next cycle of FEC due this Wednesday.  Not sure yet whether I am going to proceed.  I have triple negative breast cancer which is more aggressive so big decisions to make

Thanks for your reply, and I'm sorry to hear it still affects you. I hope it gradually improves x