Cardio-Oncology Clinic

Protecting Your Heart During Cancer Treatment

The Cardio-Oncology Clinic at UMass Memorial Health focuses on preventing and treating heart conditions that result from cancer treatment. Cancer treatments work by destroying cancer cells, but they can also harm healthy cells. Heart damage caused by cancer treatment is called cardiotoxicity.

Certain cancer treatments are more cardiotoxic than others. Chemotherapy and some targeted drugs that circulate throughout your body cause heart or blood vessel problems. Radiation therapy can also affect your heart if you have it near your chest.

Heart Conditions and Cancer Treatment

Not all cancer treatments cause heart damage, but possible complications include: 

• Arrhythmias
• Cardiomyopathy (weakened heart muscle)
• Coronary artery disease
• Heart attack
• Heart failure
• Heart valve disease
• High blood pressure or low blood pressure
• Myocarditis (heart muscle inflammation)

How We Reduce the Risk of Heart Problems From Chemotherapy and Radiation Therapy

Our multispecialty approach helps minimize the effects of cancer treatment on your heart. Cardiologists and oncologists carefully plan your treatment at every stage and provide ongoing monitoring and support:

• Before treatment: We do a pre-treatment assessment to find out if you have cardiovascular risk factors or an existing heart disease. Cancer treatment can worsen existing heart problems, so we may select different treatments based on your needs.
• During treatment: If you develop heart problems during treatment, we may adjust the type or dosage of your therapy. We can also recommend medication to ease symptoms such as shortness of breath, dizziness or fatigue.
• After treatment: Cancer survivors exposed to cardiotoxic treatments are at risk for developing heart disease in the years after their initial treatment. We can provide follow-up evaluations and testing as needed to detect problems as early as possible. 

Recognized Expertise in Heart Failure and Cancer Care

UMass Memorial Medical Center is nationally recognized as High-Performing by U.S. News & World Report for heart failure, one of the most serious side effects of cancer treatment. We are also accredited by the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer and a proud member of the Dana-Farber Cancer Care Collaborative.