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Can Radiation For Breast Cancer Affect The Heart?

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Posted on Wed, 19 Nov 2014
Question: yes I went thru targeted radiation for breast cancer last november, I was having pain in my rib, & the found out I had a factured 4th rib. The said it got radiated, I was wondering is that close to my heart, & could radiation affect my heart.
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Answered by Dr. Grzegorz Stanko (19 minutes later)
Brief Answer:
Detailed below.

Detailed Answer:
Hello!

Thank you for the query.

4th rib is where the heart starts. Moreover, radiation is not very precise method. It radiates the tumor but also surrounding tissues. So yes, your heart has been radiated for sure. And so were the main blood vessels which are located close to the heart. It wont give any symptoms or problems right away, however it may cause heart ischemia and increase arterosclerosis of radiated blood vessels. Its because the radiation has destroyed blood vessels cells as well. This causes a kind of inflammation inside the blood vessels and can block smaller vessels after some time.

Hope this will help. Feel free to ask further questions.
Regards.
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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Answered by
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Dr. Grzegorz Stanko

General Surgeon

Practicing since :2008

Answered : 5798 Questions

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Can Radiation For Breast Cancer Affect The Heart?

Brief Answer: Detailed below. Detailed Answer: Hello! Thank you for the query. 4th rib is where the heart starts. Moreover, radiation is not very precise method. It radiates the tumor but also surrounding tissues. So yes, your heart has been radiated for sure. And so were the main blood vessels which are located close to the heart. It wont give any symptoms or problems right away, however it may cause heart ischemia and increase arterosclerosis of radiated blood vessels. Its because the radiation has destroyed blood vessels cells as well. This causes a kind of inflammation inside the blood vessels and can block smaller vessels after some time. Hope this will help. Feel free to ask further questions. Regards.