A Case of Non-Compacted Left Ventricle and Lung Squamous Cell Carcinoma With Multiple Left Ventricular Clots

Left ventricular (LV) non-compaction is a genetic disease which might result in heart failure, arrhythmias, and thromboembolic events. Nonetheless, other diseases and drugs or toxins like chemotherapy agents can also simulate or exacerbate this phenotype and accelerate systolic dysfunction. Moreover, cancer and receiving chemotherapy agents are procoagulant states leading to venous, arterial, and intracardiac thromboses.

Case: 

A 62-year-old man with a history of lung squamous cell carcinoma from 4 months earlier and non-compacted LV presented with dyspnea, severe LV systolic dysfunction, and multiple large LV clots.

Non-compacted LV can be a risk factor to exacerbate the cardiotoxicity of cancer therapeutics and lead to severe LV systolic failure. Additionally, severe LV systolic dysfunction, advanced stages of the lung cancer, the hypercoagulable state of cancer, and chemotherapy drugs like platinum agents could result in the formation of multiple large clots in the LV.