Radiation therapy delivered to the mediastinum may adversely affect the heart in several ways, including the causing of a cardiomyopathy.
Features of radiation cardiomyopathy:
(1) cardiac dysfunction
(2) history of radiation therapy, with the radiation field including the heart
(3) cardiac dysfunction not completely explained by chemotherapy
(4) cardiac dysfunction not explained by other cause
The onset may be early or late (decades) after the radiation therapy.
Imaging studies may document:
(1) ventricular dysfunction
(2) myocardial fibrosis
Other radiation-associated problems that may be present:
(1) constrictive pericarditis
(2) valvular damage
(3) coronary arteriopathy
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Specialty: Hematology Oncology, Cardiology
