radiation induced heart attack, blocked arteries
 

Hello,
Thought I should mention this. This winter I had breathing problems and pain in my chest in the cold weather while walking my dog. I thought it was winter asthma but apparently I had a heart attack!
I had 2 heart sonograms and EKGs that were perfect but a scintigraphie and coronography showed:
heart attack and muscle damage
100% blocked artery
also the pneumonologist found a fibroid in my lung.
all of this due to radiation to my chest. All the cardiologists I saw said it's radiation. no plak to speak of and low colesterol. They check the tattoo marks for the radiation and this fell right in it. I asked about chemo and Herceptin and they all said, no it's the radiation.
I had very heavy radiation in the center of my chest due to a recurrence and invasive cancer over the sternum.
so if you've had radiation there and start having chest pains, check it out with a cardiologist.
I have now had angioplasty to unblock the artery but I am still having breathing problems.
no more chest pain but it's now warm weather so will have to wait until next winter to know for sure.
I hadn't ever heard about this but when I checked the angioplasty site greg mentioned, I found others with this problem.
take care
health and happiness.

Re: radiation induced heart attack, blocked arteries
 

Thanks for sharing this Sarah. Sorry to hear that this is yet another side effect of bc but pleased that they found the blocked artery and have been able to treat it successfully.
Hugs
Ellie

Re: radiation induced heart attack, blocked arteries
 

I am sorry Sarah. I hope you are feeling better now.

Re: radiation induced heart attack, blocked arteries
 

Hello Ellie and Eliane,
Thank you for your kind words. It was an amazing procedure to watch and seems to have been successful. Certainly better to have this than you know what!!!
Just felt we should be aware, maybe if I had been, I wouldn't have had the heart muscle damage - the heart attack that I didn't realize was one!!

Re: radiation induced heart attack, blocked arteries
 

Sarah, I too am sorry for your troubles. I hope you are feeling better soon, and that your breathing issues are resolved quickly.

all the best
caya

Re: radiation induced heart attack, blocked arteries
 

I am so sorry this happened to you. It also happened to a bc friend of mine who had a very small, non Her2 tumor so only had lumpectomy and radiation. Her tumor was on the left side. Was yours?

Re: radiation induced heart attack, blocked arteries
 

Thanks Caya and Becky.
Becky, my cancer was on the right side but because it was a recurrence and the biopsy showed unclear margins over the sternum, I was given heavy radiation from the right armpit to the edge of the left breast, therefore covering the heart arteries and some (maybe all) of the heart. I actually always worried about getting esophageal cancer from the radiation.
If I'd known heart issues from the radiation could happen, I might have reacted sooner to my chest pain and breatlessness in the cold weather. that's why I thought it was important to mention it so others don't put it off, because we all get fed up with treatment and tests and seeing doctors but.....
I had my radiation in 2004 (so 7 years later) and since 2004 had slight breathing problems going up hill but it was last winter that it was obvious it needed treatment. I'd had FEVs (heart sonograms) every 3 months through the 6 years (2004-2010) of Herceptin and no problems with them and then a lung test for the breathing problem plus other sonograms, a pet scan and x-rays looking for cancer but nothing showed up until the heart scintigraphy and the coronaroscopy.
feeling better every day and better than another recurrence!
health and happiness
sarah

Re: radiation induced heart attack, blocked arteries
 

Sarah, hope you are feeling better. Thank you for sharing this information.

Amelia

Re: radiation induced heart attack, blocked arteries
 

Sarah
Hope your continue to feel better...thank you for educating all of us on this...I have heard of it happening, but you are the first to come forward with this side effect of radiation....great awareness post for others!
Stay strong!

Re: radiation induced heart attack, blocked arteries
 

thanks for all the good wishes. I seem to have lost my login info so may have to be a "lurker" but it's unintentional.
Exactly, I wanted people to be aware that it can happen although I don't think it's that often. I do want to make sure they know at my hospital as well.
Stay well
maybe I'll figure out how to log in again - forgotten my pw, if not I'm still
sarah
you just won't see the cute photo of Tania our sweet rescue dog
also bravo to anyone who can read thos six letters!!