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December 13, 2022

Heart Care During Cancer Treatment

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♪ [Music] ♪

- [Dr. Kusterer] The goal of
a cardio-oncology program

is to make sure that patients
are receiving optimal cancer care

without compromising
their health in other areas

and making sure that patients
are strong enough to continue treatment,

and minimize, you know,
potential side effects

or adverse effects that can
come from cancer treatments.

For a majority of patients,

we'll see them pretty soon
after their cancer diagnosis,

we'll do a baseline,
what we call a risk assessment.

We get an EKG,
check their blood pressure in clinic,

I'll get some baseline lab work that looks
at some markers of heart muscle strength,

cholesterol,
go over their history,

and then periodically
throughout cancer treatments,

we will do an echocardiogram,

which is an ultrasound of the heart that's
looking at the pumping strength of the heart

to make sure we're not seeing any
decline in strength or weakening.

Myself and other cardiologists and
oncologists work closely and collaborate

on what we think is going to be,
you know, best for each patient.

Prevention is oftentimes
a big part of the cure.

When you see patients from
subsequent follow-up visits

and they're moving through
their cancer treatment well,

that makes me feel really good.

And on the other side, if we find
that somebody has an issue,

if we can interrupt it, early on,
then that's a great feeling too.

♪ [Music] ♪
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Baptist Health Lexington: Heart Care During Cancer Treatment

Baptist Health’s Cardio-Oncology program focuses on heart care during cancer treatment. Learn how our oncology cardiologists help to ensure a patient’s optimal care.

Heart Care During Cancer Treatment in Lexington, KY, HealthTalks Transcript

Nathan Kusterer, MD:
The goal of a cardio-oncology program is to make sure patients are receiving optimal cancer care without compromising their health in other areas. [We want] to make sure patients are strong enough to continue treatment and minimize potential side effects or adverse effects that can come from cancer treatments.

For a majority of patients, we’ll see them pretty soon after their cancer diagnosis. We’ll do a baseline, [or] what we call a risk assessment. We get an EKG and check their blood pressure in clinic. I’ll get some baseline lab work that looks at some markers of heart muscle strength, cholesterol, and go over their history. Periodically, throughout cancer treatment, we will do an echocardiogram, which is an ultrasound of the heart that’s looking at the pumping strength of the heart to make sure we’re not seeing any decline in strength or weakening.

Myself, and other cardiologists and oncologists, work closely and collaborate on what we think is going to be best for each patient. Prevention is oftentimes a big part of the cure. When you see patients from subsequent follow-up visits and they’re moving through their cancer treatment well, that makes me feel really good. On the other side, if we find that somebody has an issue and we can interrupt it early on, then that’s a great feeling too.

Next Steps and Useful Resources

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Echocardiograms vs. EKGs/ECGs
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