Acute Coronary Syndrome in Cancer Patients

Abstract

Cardiologists are seeing an increasing number of oncology patients every day, and acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is one of the problems patients encounter during follow-up. Cardio-oncology is the care of patients with cancer and cardiovascular disease, whether overt or occult, already established or acquired during treatment. Cardiovascular complications can occur acutely during or shortly after treatment and persist as long-term effects for months to years after treatment. As a delayed effect of cancer treatment, cardiovascular damage can occur months to years after the initial treatment. Vasospasm, thrombosis, and radiation-induced cardiovascular diseases can all cause ACS. Careful surveillance of ACS symptoms and regular screening during follow-up of patients with malignancy are suggested. In this review, we summarize the ACS we usually encounter during a range of cancer treatments or post cancer survival by providing illustrative case examples.