European Society of Cardiology
Madrid, 30 June 2021. Cancer patients are a vulnerable population prone to develop cardiovascular complications. Among other factors, some anticancer therapies can induce adverse cardiovascular effects. Every year, more than 3 million Europeans receive anthracyclines alone or in combination with other anticancer agents. Anthracyclines are a frequently prescribed anticancer agent that can induce an irreversible toxic effect on the heart may lead to chronic heart failure in ≈5% of the cases. It is estimated that in Europe the prevalence of chronic heart failure secondary to cancer therapy-related cardiotoxicity is ≈1 million people. The trade-off between cancer and chronic heart failure is a massive psychological burden. For healthcare systems, the growing incidence of chronic heart failure has devastating consequences.