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Updated: Sep 16, 2025
07:27
Implantation of Total Artificial Heart in Congenital Heart Disease
Published on: July 18, 2014
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Treating Concomitant Advanced Heart Failure and Advanced Cancer With Left Ventricular Assist Device, Surgery, and
Blake Campbell1, Arianne Clare Agdamag2, Halle C F Moore3
1Department of Internal Medicine, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
JACC. Case Reports
|July 4, 2025
Summary
Managing cancer alongside advanced heart failure is challenging. This case report details successful treatment of breast cancer in a patient undergoing evaluation for heart transplantation, highlighting the need for integrated care.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Oncology
- Transplantation Medicine
Background:
- Advanced heart failure necessitates complex therapeutic decisions.
- Concurrent cancer diagnosis presents significant management challenges.
- Heart transplantation evaluation requires thorough patient assessment.
Observation:
- A 63-year-old female with severe left ventricular dysfunction and inotrope-dependent stage D heart failure was evaluated for heart transplantation.
- Breast cancer, stage IIIb, was diagnosed during the pre-transplantation workup.
- The patient had a history of anterior ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction.
Findings:
- The patient received a left ventricular assist device (LVAD).
- She underwent neoadjuvant chemo-immunotherapy, mastectomy, and adjuvant radiation and immunotherapy.
- The patient achieved cancer remission and is alive three years post-LVAD implantation.
Implications:
- There is a lack of specific guidelines for managing active cancer in advanced heart failure patients.
- Multidisciplinary team collaboration is crucial for coordinating cardiac and oncologic treatments.
- Developing guidelines for cancer treatment in patients with LVADs is an important future direction.
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