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Survivorship

What You Should Know

There are many cancer treatments available that lengthen lives. However, some of these treatments can cause damage to the heart and blood vessels either immediately or in the future. Cancer survivors have a greater risk of cardiovascular disease than people without cancer. Before, during and after treatment, your heart health is important. Apart from cancer coming back, heart disease is the main cause of death in cancer survivors.

Possible long-term heart effects:

How Do I Prevent and Monitor Heart Disease?

Heart disease may be reversible if identified early. That is why monitoring symptoms and signs of heart disease over time is important.

Seeing a Provider as a Cancer Survivor

Which health care providers or specialists can help?

Primary care providers can help with prevention and screening of heart disease risk factors like high blood pressure and high cholesterol. A long-term relationship with a primary care provider is important for all survivors to help stay healthy.

Cardiologists or cardio-oncologists can help treat heart problems and watch for long-term heart side effects of cancer treatment using imaging tests and laboratory tests.

What Increases Risk of Heart Problems in Survivors?

Two main factors increase your risk:

  1. Your heart disease risk factors, including smoking, drug use, high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, obesity, metabolic changes, sleep apnea, and family history of heart disease.
  2. Your cancer treatment-related risk factors, which include your cancer diagnosis and types of treatment. Some cancer treatments that increase your risk of heart disease include:

How Do I Lower My Risk of Heart Disease?

Preventing heart disease is the ultimate goal. Some recommended steps to help you remain healthy for as long as possible:

  • Exercise daily.
  • Eat a heart-healthy diet.
  • Manage your weight. Weight loss can lower your blood pressure, blood sugar levels, and risk of heart disease.
  • Measure your blood pressure. If you have high blood pressure, you may need medication. A low-salt eating plan, such as the DASH diet, can help.
  • Get screened for diabetes with a blood test called an A1C.
  • Have your cholesterol levels checked. You may need a type of medication called a statin to lower your cholesterol.
  • If you smoke, work on quitting. Your primary care provider can help by discussing options such as nicotine replacement patches or gum, medications like varenicline and bupropion, cognitive behavioral therapy, or other ways to quit.
  • Ask about your family history to better understand your risk for heart disease.

What Are the Signs and Symptoms of Heart Damage?

The signs and symptoms to watch for include:

  • Chest pain
  • Shortness of breath at rest or with exercise
  • Palpitations (heart racing or skipping beats)
  • Dizziness
  • Lightheadedness
  • Swelling
  • Nausea
  • Loss of appetite
  • Difficulty lying completely flat to sleep
  • Waking up short of breath

If you start to experience any of these symptoms, contact your health care team right away.

What Should I Know When I Visit My Providers as a Cancer Survivor?

  • Know your cancer treatments, including the name and dose of each medication and/or the dose of radiation you received.
  • Know when you last received treatment or the name and office information of your oncologist.

Schedule an appointment with your health care team today to begin talking about your heart health as a cancer survivor.

Learn More: Questions to Ask
Learn More: Exams and Tests

Survivors of Childhood, Adolescent, and Young Adult Cancer

Treating cancer in children, adolescents, and young adults is improving. More than 8 in 10 children with cancer survive for five years. (5-year survival rate is over 85% in childhood cancer.) However, there is an increased risk of cardiovascular disease in young cancer survivors due to treatment-related exposures and the development of high blood pressure, diabetes, and high cholesterol.

To help monitor the effects of cancer treatment in young cancer survivors, the Children's Oncology Group published screening recommendations called the Long-Term Follow-up Guidelines for Survivors of Childhood, Adolescent, and Young Adult Cancers.

The most important information to review at your first visit with a new provider includes:

  • Type of cancer
  • Date of diagnosis
  • Types and doses of cancer treatment (if known), including chemotherapy, radiation (location and dose), or hematopoietic stem cell transplant

Depending on the types of treatment you received, additional monitoring with laboratory tests and imaging may be needed over time. Some treatments affect the heart. Others can affect organ systems such as the gastrointestinal tract, lungs, urinary tract, or skin.

In addition to your physical health, your provider can help with mental health concerns and other issues you may be experiencing after treatment, such as chronic pain.

Authors: Kaitlyn McLeod, MD; and Jennifer Santos, MD

  • Last Edited 07/08/2026