Patients receiving cardio-toxic cytostatic agents are examined by Doppler-echocardiography and acoustic cardiography before, during, and after the cytostatic treatment. Doppler-echocardiography measures ejection fraction, TDI, speckle tracking, and further parameters. Acoustic cardiography (Audicor, Inovise Medical Inc., Portland, USA) simultaneously integrates heart sounds and single-channel electrocardiography input to generate multiple parameters that correlate to established hemodynamic measures. Heart function as assessed by Doppler-echocardiography is then compared to the heart function as assessed by Audicor ECG.
In this study, the investigators sought to determine whether an acoustic cardiographic assessment of heart function is equivalent to Doppler-echocardiography in patients who are treated with cardio-toxic cytostatic agents.