Key result
Chest irradiation increases the risk of long-term cardiovascular adverse events, such as heart failure and coronary artery disease, highlighting the need for early diagnosis and risk management.
Why the study?
Cardiovascular adverse events after chest irradiation remain difficult to diagnose, and radiation-induced heart failure with preserved ejection fraction remains incompletely understood in long-term cancer survivors.
This review highlights the growing importance of recognizing and managing radiation-induced cardiovascular damage, particularly HFpEF, in long-term cancer survivors.
May warrant enhanced cardiac surveillance post-chest irradiation; leaves optimal screening protocols open for prospective validation.
The improvement of anticancer-therapies results in a greater amount of long-term survivors after radiotherapy. Therefore, the understanding of cardiotoxicity after irradiation is of increasing importance. Cardiovascular adverse events after chest irradiation have been acknowledged for a long time but remain difficult to diagnose. Long-term cardiovascular adverse events may become evident years or decades after radiotherapy and the spectrum of potential cardiovascular side effects is large. Recent experimental and clinical data indicate that cardiovascular symptoms may be caused especially by heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, which remains incompletely understood in patients after radiation therapy. Heart radiation dose and co-existing cardiovascular risk factors represent some of the most important contributors for incidence and severity of radiation-induced cardiovascular side effects. In this review, we aim to elucidate the underlying patho-mechanisms and to characterize the development of radiation-induced cardiovascular damage. Additionally, approaches for clinical management and treatment options are presented.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Mrotzek et al. (2020) conducted a review in Radiation-induced cardiovascular damage. Chest irradiation was evaluated. Chest irradiation increases the risk of long-term cardiovascular adverse events, such as heart failure and coronary artery disease, highlighting the need for early diagnosis and risk management.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: