Cancer treatments can affect your heart, especially if you already have heart problems or are at risk for them. No matter where you are in your cancer journey, our team of heart and cancer experts can help you balance treatments while protecting your heart from damage and disease.
Protecting your heart when it's most vulnerable
Cancer can put a lot of stress on your heart. Some treatments like chemotherapy and radiation can also raise your risk of heart disease. When these treatments harm your heart, it’s called cardiac toxicity.
Balancing cancer treatment with heart protection can be tricky, but you don’t have to do it alone. Through early screening, we’ll check if you're at higher risk for heart disease. We work closely with your cancer care team to reduce these risks and support your heart for long-term health.
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Conditions
If you're already at risk of heart problems, cancer treatment could make that risk even higher. Your heart health may be affected by:
- The type of cancer you have
- The overall burden cancer places on your heart
- The cancer treatment agents used
Cancer treatment can lead to heart conditions, including:
- Heart failure or cardiomyopathy caused by chemotherapy drugs
- High blood pressure (hypertension) caused by drugs like tyrosine kinase inhibitors
- Early coronary and valvular disease caused by chest radiation
Testing
If your cancer treatment includes chemotherapy or surgery, we’ll schedule a cardiology risk assessment for you. During this appointment, we’ll check if you’re at risk for heart problems and recommend ways to protect your heart.
We’ll use several tests for your assessment, including:
- Cardiac catheterization: A catheter is guided to your heart to check for damage or infection.
- Echocardiogram: An ultrasound to view your heart's structure and function.
- Exercise “stress” echocardiogram: Monitors how your heart responds to exercise.
- Vascular ultrasound: Checks blood flow in your vessels.
Your health is our top priority. Based on your needs, we may suggest follow-up tests for a clearer picture of your heart health. The information we gather will help us create a personalized care plan to prevent heart damage from cancer treatment.
Treatments
Cancer treatments can affect your heart in different ways and at different times. We offer the treatments, resources and support to keep your heart healthy — whether you’ve just been diagnosed, are currently undergoing treatment or are in remission. Wherever you are in your cancer care, our team will ensure your heart health is a priority too.
For people with pre-existing heart disease
If you have heart disease before your cancer treatment, we’ll closely monitor your heart throughout your care. Your cardio-oncology plan may include regular appointments and ongoing testing to manage symptoms and prevent your condition from worsening.
For people with newly developed heart issues
If you develop heart problems during treatment, we’ll create a personalized plan to address them. This might include adding medications or interventions to help improve your heart function.
Survivorship care
As you move into the post-treatment phase of your life, we’ll work with the Survivorship Program to keep track of your heart health. At the first sign of any heart stress, we’ll be ready to create a plan to address it.
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