ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the long-term cardiovascular (CV) consequences of cancer therapy, risk factors associated with CV morbidity, and models of care to mitigate CV toxicities in cancer survivors. Patients are at risk of CV complications both during, as well as years after completion of cancer treatment. Cardiovascular events occur later in life in cancer survivors at a much higher rate than the general population, due to shared risk factors such as hypertension and diabetes and previous cancer therapy exposure. Heart failure is the most common acute CV adverse event associated with cancer therapy. Cancer survivors remain at risk of developing cardiomyopathy or heart failure years after completion of cancer treatment. An epidemiological study from the United Kingdom showed an increased likelihood of heart failure at 1-year follow-up in cancer survivors. Trastuzumab-related cardiotoxicity varies between 5% and 10%, with up to 28% being reported with concomitant administration of anthracyclines.
