Carcinoid heart disease: Clinicopathologic findings and follow-up in 11 cases

Eleven cases of carcinoid heart disease are reported, including two in which a primary, ovarian carcinoid tumor without metastases was extirpated but tricuspid incompetence progressed. Findings on routine physical examinations, right heart catheterization, phonocardiography, electrocardiography, chest roentgenograms, right ventriculography and patho-anatomic investigation are briefly described. The natural history of carcinoid heart disease is commented upon. It is concluded that carcinoid heart disease may be a lethal manifestation of carcinoidosis even in cases in which disseminated tumor growth persists, and that it may have a progressive further course of its own even in cases in which the carcinoid tumor has been successfully surgically removed.