Radiation-Induced Cardiovascular Disease: Review of an Underrecognized Pathology

Radiation therapy demonstrates a clear survival benefit in the treatment of several malignancies. However, cancer survivors can develop a wide array of cardiotoxic complications related to radiation. This pathology is often underrecognized by clinicians and there is little known on how to manage this population. Radiation causes fibrosis of all components of the heart and significantly increases the risk of coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathy, valvulopathy, arrhythmias, and pericardial disease. Physicians should treat other cardiovascular risk factors aggressively in this population and guidelines suggest obtaining regular imaging once symptomatology is established. Patients with radiation-induced cardiovascular disease tend to do worse than their traditional counterparts for the same interventions. However, there is a trend toward fewer complications and lower mortality with catheter-based rather than surgical approaches, likely because radiation makes these patients poor surgical candidates. When appropriate, these patients should be referred for percutaneous management of valvulopathy and coronary disease.