Dr Amresh Raina Explains Radiation’s Impact on the Heart

There is potential impact on the heart, coronary arteries, and heart function following radiation to the left side of the body; however, radiation has evolved such that you can target it to avoid the heart and chest, explained Amresh Raina, MD, director of the Advanced Heart Failure and Pulmonary Hypertension Program at Allegheny General Hospital and the Allegheny Health Network in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is a board-certified advanced heart failure cardiologist, who is also certified in echocardiography and general cardiology.

Transcript

Does left-side radiation have a higher association with cardiac issues?

That’s a good question. Radiation has evolved in the last 50 years. When radiation therapy was first developed, it was largely whole-body radiation, so you'd get sort of a nonspecific and nontargeted area of radiation. Obviously, if you're doing radiation to the left side of the body, left side of the chest specifically, there's a higher incidence of it having some impact upon the heart and the coronary arteries and the heart function. If you're getting a radiation to the brain, for example, you're less likely to have a significant exposure in the chest, or if you're getting radiation to the pelvis, similarly, you can usually target it to avoid the chest and the heart as much as possible. So, there is more targeted radiation now than there was many years ago, but obviously the risk is higher when it's on the left side of the chest vs some other portion of the body.