Heart Health & Cancer
Supportive care through cardio-oncology
Experts in Cardio-Oncology
Huge advances in cancer treatment have helped experts at Lahey Clinic more effectively control cancer. These advances have helped us extend the lives of our patients. There are times, however, that certain therapies cause serious short or long-term side effects, such as damage to your heart, called cardiotoxicity. Cardiotoxicity can be caused by cancer or its therapies.
We care for cancer patients who have pre-existing heart conditions, are at risk of developing heart issues or are having cardiac side effects to cancer treatment.
Our goals are to reduce your risk of cardiotoxicity and avoid having to discontinue treatments that are effective in curing your cancer. The sooner we find cardiotoxicity, the more reversible it is.
What We Treat
Experts in our cardio-oncology program care for patients getting cancer treatment who have (or are at risk for) heart disease. We evaluate and treat patients who:
- Will begin cancer treatment and have risk factors or are being treated for heart disease.
- Are getting chemotherapy, immunotherapy or radiation therapy and develop symptoms such as chest pain or tightness, shortness of breath, leg swelling, irregular heartbeats (palpitations), lightheadedness or dizziness.
- Had cancer treatment in the past and develop new heart problems.
- Had radiation therapy to the chest area in the past.
- Have a cardiac tumor.
More About Heart Health & Cancer
The Cardio-Oncology Program brings together specialists and clinical researchers to provide the best care possible.
Director: Sarju Ganatra, MD
Advanced Practitioner: Julie Grassi
Our multidisciplinary team includes experts in:
- Cardiology.
- Hematology-oncology.
- Radiation-oncology.
- Onco-nephrology (experts in cancer of the kidneys).
- Cancer surgery.
- Cancer survivorship.
Our team conducts research to understand diseases and develop new treatment approaches. We have led and participated in several national and international studies. We develop guidelines to best manage patients who have both cancer and cardiovascular disease.
As a patient, you can benefit from shared expertise, leading research, and our commitment to quality and excellence. Our goals are to prevent heart problems resulting from cancer and cancer treatments, and to improve your overall health.
Our team can help you learn about opportunities to join one of our research studies in a cancer clinical trial. We continue to lead scientific work to enhance our understanding about how to best assess, mitigate and manage cancer therapy-related side effects on the heart and have led many landmark studies in this space.
Before Cancer Treatment
We evaluate patients for cardiovascular risk and the benefits of the recommended cancer treatments. In this phase, we focus on developing strategies to prevent cardiac side effects from your cancer therapies and optimize your cardiovascular health. We provide cardiovascular therapies that may reduce those risks.
During Cancer Treatment
We monitor the impact of your cancer treatment using non-invasive imaging, such as:
- Echocardiography
- Stress tests
- Cardiac CT Scan
- Cardiac MRI
This imaging allows us to quickly detect any damage to your heart muscle. When cardiotoxicity occurs, we collaborate with Lahey oncologists to assess the risks and benefits of continuing your cancer therapy versus the need to keep your heart safe and functioning.
We work with you to provide therapies to treat and repair heart failure and other conditions.
After Cancer Treatment
The cardiotoxic effects of cancer therapies often occur years after treatment is complete. Called late cardiotoxicity, it often occurs in patients who had radiation therapy.
We identify patients at the highest risk for late cardiotoxicity, and monitor patients in the years after cancer treatment, so we can implement preventive therapies when needed.
