what does asynchronous septal motion on the left ventricle mean
48 yr old female breast cancer survivor of four years.. took chemotherapy and recently had a echocardiogram for shortness of breath upon exertion. everything seemed normal except the left ventrical it mentioned asynchronous septal motion, probably due to anthryacycline effect.. what does this mean?
Hello mary,
Let me try to explain your Echocardiography (or more commonly just Echo) results.
Anthracyclines are a class of common chemotherapy drugs; some of the drugs in the class include doxyrubicin, epirubicin, daunorubicin. They are used in many different kinds of cancer including breast.
Chemo drugs are absolutely necessary to kill cancer cells, but they are also toxic to other cells and have many side effects. Unfortunately, one the more common side effects of the anthracyclines are changes in the heart's ability to pump blood. Unfortunately, this side effect can persist for years, or, take years to become apparent.
The "asynchronous septal wall motion" of your heart, which was seen on your Echo, basically means that the septum (septum = the wall that divides your heart into left and right) is not contracting normally.
Your oncologist and your primary care physician should be made aware of these results, and you should follow up with both to assess whether to asses the severity of this abnormality.
To your health,
Neil MD
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