how does herceptin affect the heart?
342075
Here is an excerpt from the warning letter sent to physicians from the manufacturer of Herceptin:\n\n"Dear Healthcare Provider:\n\nGenentech, Inc. wishes to inform you of updated cardiotoxicity information related to the use of HERCEPTIN® (trastuzumab), obtained from the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) study (B-31), a randomized, Phase III trial that was conducted in 2043 women with operable, HER2 overexpressing breast cancer (IHC 3+ or FISH+). \n\nThis study demonstrated a significant increase in cardiotoxicity in patients who were randomized to the HERCEPTIN-containing arm as compared to patients who received chemotherapy alone.\n\nA preliminary analysis of the safety data from Study NSABP B-31 was presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in May 2005, during the presentation of a joint analysis of Study NSABP B-31 and the North Central Cancer Treatment Group (NCCTG) study (N9831). Study NSABP B-31 was intended, in part, to characterize cardiotoxicity associated with HERCEPTIN use and to assess the value of serial cardiac monitoring during HERCEPTIN therapy as a predictor of cardiotoxicity and as an aid to early identification of cardiac toxicity.\n\nStudy NSABP B-31 evaluated the addition of HERCEPTIN to standard adjuvant chemotherapy. The chemotherapy regimen\nconsisted of four cycles of doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide (AC) followed by four cycles of paclitaxel every 3 weeks; patients were randomized to receive 1 year of HERCEPTIN, at the approved dose and schedule, during and following paclitaxel (Arm 2) or to paclitaxel alone (Arm 1). Patients in this study were required to have a baseline assessment of cardiac function with either multigated acquisition scan (MUGA) or echocardiogram and to have follow-up assessments at the completion of AC and at 6, 9, and 18 months after the initiation of paclitaxel with or without HERCEPTIN. \n\nEligible patients had a left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) measurement at baseline (prior to any therapy) that was within normal limits and no history of or active cardiac disease, including cardiomyopathy, congestive heart failure, prior myocardial infarction, or arrhythmia.\nPrior to initiation of HERCEPTIN (Arm 2), LVEF measurements were required to be at or above the radiology facility's lower limit of normal (LLN) and be no more than 15 points below baseline measurements. \n\nFor patients randomized to Arm 2 with asymptomatic decrease in LVEF, the following table lists the guidelines that were employed for dose modification of HERCEPTIN [table unable to be produced here].\n\nHERCEPTIN was permanently discontinued in patients with symptomatic cardiac toxicity. In the event that HERCEPTlN\nadministration was withheld or discontinued because of cardiotoxicity, paclitaxel was administered at the investigator's discretion.\n\nA total of 1019 patients were randomized to the HERCEPTIN-containing arm (Arm 2). Based on preliminary data and analyses through April 2005, 6.8% of patients were unable to initiate HERCEPTlN per the protocol because of decreased LVEF or symptoms of cardiac toxicity experienced during the AC portion of therapy. Among the evaluable patients who had adequate cardiac function and initiated HERCEPTIN, 30.5% required at least one dose delay because of asymptomatic decrease in LVEF or cardiac symptoms. \n\nIn 18.6% of patients, HERCEPTIN was discontinued prior to the completion of 1 year of therapy because of asymptomatic decrease in LVEF (14.3%) and symptomatic cardiac dysfunction/other cardiac toxicity (4.3%). \n\nIn addition, a statistically significant increase in the 3-year cumulative incidence of New York Heart Association Class III and IV congestive heart failure and cardiac death was observed in patients who received the HERCEPTIN-containing regimen (4.1%) compared with control (0.8%). \n\nThere were no cardiac deaths observed in patients who received the HERCEPTIN-containing reg
408733
There is a chemical in Chocolate called Thrombine, it causes the digestive tract in the dog to be irritated, the dogs heart in response to this starts to beat faster. In an old dog this can cause the heart to stop.  It is infact true that chcolate is poisoness to humans as well but we would have to eat 22 punds of it in 1 go to be fatal
294509
The entire LV wall function is not contracting / relaxing fully to its limit.\n\nWALL MOTION ABNORMALITIES\nNormally the contraction of the heart has a wringing motion, due to the arrangement of cardiac muscle fibers. For global evaluation, 2-D each is a useful tool. The SAX planes show all of the walls, except the apex. The best blood supply is at the base of the heart. \n\n\nHYPERDYNAMIC \ncompensatory decrease in systolic wall thickening \n\n\nHYPOKINETIC \nslow moving wall shows decrease in fractional shortening \n\n\nAKINETIC \nwall may thin in systole \n\n\nPARADOXIC \nwall motion is compensatory and moves opposite of normal \n\n\nDYSKINETIC \nwall motion compensates for abnormal adjacent walls
536497
NSAIDs thin the blood, decreasing the inflammatory response. But they can also weaken the arterial and cardiac walls with long-term use.
342922
Muscles need oxygen to function, so the heart has to beat faster to keep on transferring blood (and its associated oxygen) to the muscles.  There's the whole lactic acid sidetrip, but that's the general concept, I think.  The acid is just a side effect from lack of oxygen.
495205
The heart is a muscle.Like most muscles in the body they need to be excercised regularily to perform at optimum levels.Lack of excercise combined with poor diet may lead to heart disease.As well the vascular system is basically the system that gets "sick" you get build up on the inside of your arteries that in turn increases your blood pressure.which in turn can put you at risk for all sorts of things like strokes and aneurisms.your heart needs to be fed as well and this is done by a series or blood vessel connected to the heart.If they become blocked you may have a heart attack which basically kills the tissue being deprived of blood.Regular excercise and a healthy diet increase your chances of good heart health.
201125
Do you mean heart wall motion abnormality?  That would be a finding on an echocardiogram that would indicate ischemia, or lack of adequate blood flow, to that wall.\n\nThe term "hert wall abnormality" is not really used...
1183238
What's with all the cocaine questions... just so you know, COCAINE KILLS TISSUE ON CONTACT AND CAN INSTANTLY STOP THE HEART! And I can't even begin to count the number of people I know who have become hooked on this after their first time. I still haven't tried it.
540634
This is a complex question involving many components in a heartbeat. Firstly, I'll assume that your question means the chambers of the heart is empty, but not the coronary vessels supplying the heart to keep the heart muscle alive. (Or else the heart muscles would just die and the heart stops.)\n\nA heartbeat is stimulated by several factors, and those related to your question are blood pressure and blood volume.\nIn the situation where all the blood rush out of the heart, the blood pressure would remain nearly unchanged as the slight increase in blood volume is not significant. However, blood volume is partly detected by receptors in the heart itself (if the heart stretch more, blood volume is higher) Now that the heart is empty, it would tend to slow down its beating and wait for blood to fill it before it beat again.\nThe effect is gradual, so theoretically, the heart would beat slower and slower until it stops.\n\nHowever in reality, it is impossible for the heart to become empty without the heart dying as the coronary arteries and veins are attached directly into the heart.
1038985
Amlodipine-\nMode of action- Same as calcium channel blockers. It reduces the amount of calcium entering the muscle cells of arteries causing them to relax. This leads to the blood flow to heart increasing and reducing the work, the heart has to do to pump blood around the body.\nOnset of action- gradual.\nDuration of action- > 24 hours.\nAdverse effects- Headache, flushing, hypotension, nausea, abdominal pain, peripheral oedema, fatigue, dizziness, palpitation, rash.\nContraindication- Hypersensitivity.\nSpecial precautions- Liver dysfunction, children.\nMetformin- Please see the webpage for more details.\nSimvastatin- do-\nGemfibrozil- do-
88911
it affects everything.\nfor example CVA or Cereborvascular Arrest or Stroke - it damages the brain tissue, brought about by the obstruction of the arterioles by fat deposits, a condition called artherosclerosis, leading to rupture then, brain hemorrhage or the so-called intracerebral hemorrhage. Then it causes an increased intracranial pressure, brought about by the change of volume inside the rigid skull by the obstructed CSF, blood and tissue itself. If untreated, it will damage the respiratory center, the "Medulla Oblongata". \nNow, CVA depending on which side of the brain it has damaged. Damage on the left hemisphere leads to a right-sided heart failure. Right sided heart failure causes pitting edema on the extremities, which is brought by the inadequate supply of blood by the Enlarged Left ventricle of the heart. I almost forgot, that the risk factor of this is hypertension. Damage on the right hemisphere leads to left-sided heart failure, then in turn causes pulmonary edema. \nSee, a simple thickening of blood can cause all that. But you may ask 'why everything'? Now, read and study the anatomy and physiology of the brain. Brain is the 'control center' to be simple. It has connections and recieves information from other parts of the body. It is the main reason why we think, why we feel hungry, why we feel love(it is not the heart), why we move, why we do whatever we do. \n\nNow, imagine it damaged.\n\nDo your body a favor, stop smoking and drinking alcohol. Lower cholesterol intake, Too much LDLs are bad. Regular exercise, and diet modification is important.
593781
If your doctor actually said that the walls of your heart were thickening,he is talking about heart enlargement,maybe to the point that the heart,a muscle,is having troubles opening and closing(also called pumping) and pushing  blood through it's four chambers to circulate oxygen-enriched blood throughout the body. This is commonly referred to as heart failure.If your doctor said there was thickening in the arteries,this means that the major arteries are clogging up with fatty placque which also impedes the circulation of the blood throughout the body;it can also lead to a heart attack or stroke.Go to the website for The American Heart Association and the site mywebmd.com for more clarification.
396031
As the heart increase in size, the surface area increase by the square, while the internal volume increases by the cube.\nExample: internal volume = Length * Width * height\n\nAs the internal volume increases the amount of blood pumped per heart beat (stroke volume) increases.\n\nThe actual “strength” of the heart is unchanged. Cardiac myosites are essentially unchanged between different mammal species. \n\nWell trained athletes tend to have a health heart hypertrophy (enlarged heart) and have heart beats in the 40’s-50’s BPM while the average adults range in the 60’s-80’s.\n\nAs an end product of all of this, large animals tend to have slower metabolic rates because while it may be possible for a 6 oz bird to eat its weight in insects a day a large animal like a dog can not be expected to do so.
481166
daily ,whole day our heartbeat will not remain same .. \ni have seen a graph in food basic  pharmacy dept . \nit shows up and down  during a day ..\nbut generally if we do exercises then beat will more fast ..
1133176
There is a lot of misinformation here.  I'm an EMT/Paramedic in an ER and I've personally treated many, many heart attacks as well as other cardiac problems.\n\nFirst of all, there is no "guarantee" that you would experience left arm pain, pressure in the chest, difficulty breathing, or even chest pain when you have a heart attack.  These are some of the "textbook" symptoms, but not everyone will experience the same signs and symptoms.  In fact, women tend to have very atypical symptoms.  Many people suffer "silent" heart attacks, where no significant symptoms are present.\n\nSecond, when you have a heart attack, that does not mean that your heart has stopped beating (cardiac arrest).  In most heart attacks, cardiac arrest does NOT occur.  A heart attack simply means that a part of your heart tissue is experiencing damage, often due to a blockage of one of the coronary arteries that provides blood (and oxygen) to the tissue.  The earlier it is detected and treated, the more favorable the outcome.  \n\nIf you think you have experienced anything that could be cardiac, I would recommend that you see your physician ASAP.  They will probably perform an EKG (electrocardiogram) to look for abnormalities in your rhythm that may be indicative of a cardiac issue, and they will probably test certain enzyme levels in your blood (CKMB and troponin) which can also indicate a cardiac event.\n\nHowever, I would be very cautious of trying to get serious medical advice here.  I've seen a lot of poor advice and misinformation given in this category (and in this thread, for that matter).
320958
Potassium is an electrolyte (a substance that maintains your body's fluid levels), this mineral helps regulate blood pressure and heart function. Research shows that increasing your potassium intake can lower your blood pressure. Those individuals with existing hypertension, as well as those just looking to keep their blood pressure in check, can benefit from potassium.\n\nA Harvard study showed that men who took a potassium supplement with a diuretic decreased their incidence of stroke by 60 percent, compared to men who did not. Potassium neutralizes acids and restores alkaline salts to the bloodstream. Potassium works with sodium in all cells including at nerve synapses to maintain or restore membrane potentials and to assist in metabolic processes. Potassium is critical to our cardiovascular and nerve functioning, regulating the transfer of nutrients into cells and facilitating muscle energy.\n\nPotassium also regulates water balance and assists recuperative powers. Potassium aids rheumatic or arthritic conditions (causing acids to leave the joints and ease stiffness). Potassium is crucial for the elimination of wastes. Potassium is a natural pain desensitizer. Potassium helps control convulsions, headaches and migraines, promotes faster healing of cuts, bruises and other injuries and generally contributes to a sense of well being. Potassium is stored in the muscles.
1161515
Heart disease\nHigh blood pressure