Cardiooncology
Tailored Care for Patients with Heart Disease and Cancer
We know your heart.
If you have heart disease and a cancer diagnosis, are experiencing cardiovascular issues due to cancer treatment, or need cardiovascular care after receiving cancer treatment, our cardiooncology unit at MetroHealth is here for you. We provide comprehensive care for patients dealing with both heart problems and cancer.
Heart disease and cancer require highly specialized treatment on their own, but when combined, there are many decisions to be made about how—and in what order—to provide treatment. At MetroHealth, we work closely as a multidisciplinary team to create highly individualized care plans—plans that can change quickly as your needs change. This collaborative approach ensures we make the best, most informed decisions about your care.
If you have existing heart disease and are diagnosed with cancer, a cardiooncologist is needed to prepare you for treatment.
A cardiooncologist will:
- Handle preoperative planning: If surgery is needed to treat your cancer, we’ll help you and your surgeon understand your heart risks and make sure you have the healthiest surgery possible. That includes focusing on anesthesia that won’t cause your blood pressure to change too much or too quickly.
- Prescribe medication: Medication can be used to optimize your heart rate during treatment, manage diabetes and make sure your blood volume is correct.
- Prepare your body for treatment: Through coronary revascularization, we can place stents to open arteries and improve blood flow prior to treatment.
- Reduce further cardiac damage: Certain types of chemotherapy can cause cardiac damage, so we use beta blockers, statins and ACE inhibitors to protect your heart while allowing you to still benefit from chemotherapy.
Throughout your cancer journey, we’ll use monitoring tests like echocardiograms, cardiac MRIs, and other diagnostic tools to make sure your heart is handling cancer treatment well.
Even if you’ve never been diagnosed with heart disease or heart failure, cancer treatment—especially chemotherapy—can be hard on your cardiovascular system.
Still, cancer treatment is an important part of your healing.
Your oncologist may work with a cardiooncologist if there’s evidence that treatment is damaging your heart. While it’s unlikely that stopping treatment is the best option, a cardiooncologist can monitor your heart health and offer additional treatment to protect your heart during your fight against cancer.
This is where our highly-tailored approach comes in: every person has their own unique cancer journey. For some people, it may be important to fight cancer right away—and reduce cardiovascular risks as much as possible, with care continuing after the cancer has been treated. For others, it may be necessary to focus on heart health first before resuming cancer treatment.
At MetroHealth, we work as a multidisciplinary team, keeping your total health in mind, every step of the way.
Advancing Research
MetroHealth participates in many clinical research studies to understand heart disease and disease management, sharing those results with the international medical community.
A team dedicated to you.
The MetroHealth Heart and Vascular Center is setting a new standard of care in northeast Ohio.
