Heart health after radiation

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Indexia
Indexia Member Posts: 1 New Member
in General discussion
Has anyone been diagnosed with hert problem eg mildly enlarged heart 2 years post radiation

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  • arpie
    arpie Member Posts: 7,584 ✭
    edited July 2021
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    Welcome to the blog, Indexia - sorry to see you here - but we've got a great bunch of members who will be only too happy to help you out with any queries.

    Feel free to add to your story - what you had done, so that we understand all that you've been thru.

    Did you have chemo as well as radiation?  Was your surgery on your left boob?  

    Some people can have heart problems as a result of their chemo and also if the radiation rays hit their heart.  They try their best to minimise the rays ..... Have you contacted your radiation oncologist about it yet?  

    My motto is always:  If in Doubt - Get checked Out!

    All the best, take care. xx
  • Afraser
    Afraser Member Posts: 4,373 ✭
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    @Indexia
    My left ventricle is slightly enlarged and doesn’t clear blood through as effectively as it might, I have a arrhythmia (irregular heart beat). You of course may not have any such problem.
    I had an irregular heartbeat for decades before bc but it was a regular irregularity which is quite common and no problem. Now I have the common, garden, plain old irregularity! But I had chemo and no radiation. Lots of theories - it may have been the chemo, it might not, it might have reverted to normal once chemo stopped if chemo caused it (it’s improved but not gone), it was just ageing (catch all for anything), or some combination of all the above and surgery (my preferred theory!). Main thing is it’s entirely manageable. After eight years I manage it with two small tablets daily, one is a blood thinner to obviate any chance of clotting, which in my case isn’t high anyway. That’s it. I feel fine and live normally. I agree with @arpie, good to get it checked out with a cardiologist. Sometimes it’s just something to be aware of, nothing more. Best wishes. 

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