Cancer and cardiovascular disease are the two main causes of death worldwide in both men and women. In the past decades, survival rate in cancer patients has substantially improved due to new treatments and developments in radiation therapy (RT). In women, breast cancer (BC) is the leading cause of cancer death and thoracic RT is a main component of the treatment in many cases. Nevertheless, despite new techniques that limit the area receiving RT, cardiac damage is still an important concern in BC patients. In this review, the following aspects will be addressed: pathophysiology of postradiotherapy heart damage in women with BC; mechanisms, diagnosis and prevention/management of heart damage; and future areas of potential research for radiotherapy injury in women.

La enfermedad arterial coronaria es la primera causa de muerte en la mujer, en el mundo y en Cuba, con mayor porcentaje de eventos desfavorables cuando se presenta de forma aguda. En el 2019 existieron en Cuba 12381 muertes por enfermedades del corazón, de ellas, 2908 fueron por infarto agudo del miocardio en mujeres.

No abstract