Advances in cancer therapies have led to a global improvement in patient survival rates. Nevertheless, the price to pay is a concomitant increase in cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality in this population. Increased inflammation and disturbances of the immune system are shared by both cancer and CV diseases. Immunological effects of anti-cancer treatments occur with both conventional chemotherapy and, to a greater extent, with novel biological therapies such as immunotherapy. For these reasons, there is growing interest in the immune system and its potential role at the molecular level in determining cardiotoxicity. Early recognition of these detrimental effects could help in identifying patients at risk and improve their oncological management. Non-invasive imaging already plays a key role in evaluating baseline CV risk and in detecting even subclinical cardiac dysfunction during surveillance. The aim of this review is to highlight the role of advanced cardiovascular imaging techniques in the detection and management of cardiovascular complications related to cancer treatment.
CMR detects decreased myocardial deformation in asymptomatic patients at risk for heart failure
A recently published article from Berlin highlights the potential of MyoStress in terms of identifying at-risk patients who have reserve and are therefore not symptomatic compared to patients with heart failure who have a preserved ejection fraction. This article shows that asymptomatic subjects with increased CV risk present with HFpEF