Vanna Dest on Cardiac Toxicity Following Radiation Therapy

Vanna Dest, MSN, APRN-BC, AOCN, Oncology Nurse Practitioner/Manager, Oncology APP, Yale-New Haven Hospital, discusses cardiac toxicity in patients receiving radiation therapy.

Cardiac toxicity is a big problem following radiation therapy, Dest says, particularly in patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma, left-sided breast cancer, and lung cancer. Age as well as combined modalities play a role in cardiac toxicity, as many patients are being treated with chemotherapy as well as radiation therapy.

Dest says that specific cardiac toxicities that need to be monitored include cardiomyopathy, coronary artery disease, valve changes, and conduction problems.