Šarūnas Masys¹

¹Republican Siauliai Hospital, Siauliai, Lithuania

Abstract

Radiotherapy is one of four main thoracic tumors treatment options. Due to the increasing number of thoracic tumors, more patients had received radiotherapy in this region. The survival rates for many forms of thoracic malignancy have improved, due to modern treatment options, however that increased mortality and morbidity due to radiotherapy induced complications amongst cancer survivors. One of the most serious complications – cardiovascular disease. This review includes the newest publications about radiotherapy-induced heart disease (RIHD), which manifests as myocardial injury, pericardial pathology, valvular heart disease, coronary artery disease, or conduction system disease, and includes the epidemiology, pathophysiology as well as diagnosis, treatment and prevention recommendations.

Aim: to analyze the scientific literature about epidemiology, pathophysiology, diagnostic methods, treatment and prevention recommendations of radiotherapy – induced heart disease (RIHD)

Methods: literature sources were selected from PubMed and Google Scholar databases, selecting only reviews from 2015 to 2021 in English, using the keywords in the original language: “cardiovascular disease”, “radiotherapy”, “chest tumors”.

Keywords: cardiovascular disease; radiotherapy; chest tumors.