CLEVELAND — February may be American Heart Month, but for those dealing with a cancer diagnosis, their heart health is just as important as treatment.
Cancer therapies such as chemotherapy, radiation, and immunotherapy can each cause unique and serious damage to the heart. As cancer treatments advance and more patients survive the disease, cardio-oncologists focus on cancer patients' heart health to ensure they remain strong enough to endure treatment and to monitor their increased risk for cardiac events for years to come.
"I am with my patients throughout their entire cancer journey and well after remission," Dr. Chris Fine, a cardio-oncologist at National Jewish Health in Denver, says. "It's my job to make sure each patient's heart is as healthy as possible so they can focus their mental and physical energy where it's needed most, and that's with battling cancer.
"We monitor the heart closely, stratify patients' risks for developing adverse effects, and intervene early — before patients experience symptoms. The goal is to not only protect their heart health in the future, but also to avoid interruptions in cancer treatment over concerns that their heart isn't strong enough."
Cardiac toxicities can happen within the first few months of treatment or 20 years later. Each treatment comes with different concerns, but may include increased risk for heart attack, stroke, or heart failure through atherosclerotic disease, valve disease, and hardening of the arteries or heart wall.
Cardio-oncologists work closely with other cancer care providers to make informed decisions throughout their treatment and to provide seamless care that considers patients' health as a whole, rather than cardiology and oncology separately. They see patients for routine imaging and testing through echocardiograms, EKGs, and blood tests.
Our Northeast Ohio hospital systems have cardio-oncologists on staff, but it may be important for the patient to advocate for themselves and request one, especially if they have a family history of heart disease.
Because patients are surviving longer, cancer survivors are up to twice as likely to die of heart disease than the general population.