Carcinoid Heart Disease

To the Editor: Møller et al. (March 13 issue) 1 addressed the topic of the progression of carcinoid heart disease. Serial echocardiographic studies were available for 71 of the 273 referred patients. The median level of urinary 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) excretion at base line in patients with carcinoid heart disease was 209 mg per 24 hours, and in those without carcinoid heart disease it was 110 mg per 24 hours; the median duration of the syndrome was relatively short, at 1.0 and 1.8 years, respectively. Remarkably, data on 5-HIAA levels during the course of this disease are scarce. We therefore studied . . .