Symptoms of Radiation Induced Coronary Artery Disease

Although radiation therapy is an effective means of ridding the body of cancer in many cases, radiation therapy can nevertheless cause unwanted side effects during and after treatment. One late-blooming residual diseases is coronary artery disease, a disorder characterized by a premature scarring of the arteries.

Coronary Artery Disease

• According to the Mayo Clinic, coronary artery disease occurs as a result of damage or disease to the arteries of the heart. The normal risk factors of this disease are increased age, being overweight, smoking, hypertension (high blood pressure), high cholesterol levels and diabetes. Coronary artery disease can lead to complications such as heart attack, total heart failure or irregular heartbeat.

Coronary Artery Disease and Radiation

• According to Nancy Keene and Dr. Kevin Oeffinger in a 2000 Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation Newsletter, radiation therapy can trigger the development of coronary artery disease due to its tendency to cause mild deformation to the interior of blood vessels. While the insides of blood vessels are normally smooth, radiation therapy can cause them to become rough, providing a place for plaque deposits to nest, accelerating the hardening of the arteries.

Isolated Symptoms

• A number of symptoms can appear in isolation in the event of coronary artery disease. Feelings of pain, pressure, tightness, or fullness in the chest can be a cause for worry. This type of pain will often appear and disappear at random intervals, lasting for up to several minutes at a time. Another isolated symptom is radiating pain that begins in the chest and moves outward to the arms, shoulders and neck.

Conjunctive Symptoms

• Beyond isolated symptoms, radiation-induced coronary artery disease can also produce overlapping symptoms--some that occur either simultaneously or within a close proximity of time to one another. Look out for localized discomfort in the chest coupled with feelings of nausea, profuse or mild sweating, lightheadedness or fainting. While the latter symptoms could be indicative of any number of conditions, where coupled with chest pain, they are far more likely to stem from coronary artery disease.

Considerations

• Keep in mind that although radiation therapy can lead to the development of coronary artery disease, that is in no way a foregone conclusion. The likelihood can be minimized by avoiding the risk factors mentioned above--keeping a healthy weight, not smoking, maintaining a low cholesterol level and ensuring that blood pressure remains in check.