Radiation-induced heart disease is a serious complication of thoracic radiotherapy driven by endothelial injury, oxidative stress, and inflammation, with statins and ACE inhibitors showing preventive potential.
This review highlights the mechanisms and clinical manifestations of radiation-induced heart disease to aid clinicians in its identification and prevention.
With the increasing incidence of thoracic tumors, radiation therapy (RT) has become an important component of comprehensive treatment. RT improves survival in many cancers, but it involves some inevitable complications. Radiation-induced heart disease (RIHD) is one of the most serious complications. RIHD comprises a spectrum of heart disease including cardiomyopathy, pericarditis, coronary artery disease, valvular heart disease and conduction system abnormalities. There are numerous clinical manifestations of RIHD, such as chest pain, palpitation, and dyspnea, even without obvious symptoms. Based on previous studies, the pathogenesis of RIHD is related to the production and effects of various cytokines caused by endothelial injury, inflammatory response, and oxidative stress (OS). Therefore, it is of great importance for clinicians to identify the mechanism and propose interventions for the prevention of RIHD.
Wang et al. (Tue,) conducted a review in Radiation-induced heart disease. Radiation-induced heart disease is a serious complication of thoracic radiotherapy driven by endothelial injury, oxidative stress, and inflammation, with statins and ACE inhibitors showing preventive potential.