Temporary stop in Herceptin

Sorry that I cannot reassure you that a drop in ejection fraction by MUGA scan is "normal", but hopefully your cardiology visit will go like my recent one did:

My ejection fraction by MUGA scan was 56% before chemo/Herceptin, and has remained the same (last chemo dose the end of last Dec., still getting Herceptin every three weeks through mid-Oct.). But I was sent to a cardiologist a couple months ago because the newest MUGA scan showed some weakening of diastolic function (a part of heart function different from ejection fraction but still important) and because of new arrythmias. The cardiologist said ultrasound gives much more information about heart function than MUGA, and that she sees lots of patients after concerning MUGA scans whose hearts are fine by ultrasound. Luckily I was one --- she measured my ejection fraction as almost 60%, and the diastolic function was normal --- so I didn't have to pause the Herceptin. Also, she said the arrythmias were common for Herceptin patients and not dangerous. Wrote me for a med to stop them, but just being reassured that the extra beats are not dangerous was enough for me; I hate extra meds. I sincerely hope your cardiologist finds your heart to be fine, too However, according to my oncologists, if you do need to pause the Herceptin, in most cases the heart recovers and you can restart it without problems. And since Herceptin apparently washes out of the body much more slowly than chemo does (over several months not days), the pause doesn't really affect prognosis. Good luck!

My EF started at 60% April 2015 before AC and Herceptin, it gradually decreased but stayed above 50% until this March, when echo showed 40-45%. MO ordered a MUGA which showed 42%. I was referred to a cardiologist who put me on Coreg, and after 6 weeks my EF was back up to 50-55%. I resumed Herceptin in June. Just had another echo this week and EF was 55%. It is concerning though...I'm not sure how long I will be on Coreg...... I'm seeing the cardiologist every 6 weeks, but only have 2 more treatments to go. I hope everything turns out well for you Basia!!

That's an interesting finding, Daisylover. Thanks for posting it.

I'm not HER2 +++ but am receiving Herceptin for 1 yr as part of a clinical trial and am currently on a 1-round break due to fatigue. My EF is slightly lower than prior to treatment but not enough to cause concern. Maybe there's just something in the air this summer . Hope everyone is back in the saddle again soon.