A new field of cardiac-oncology is rapidly growing to help fight the second leading cause of death among cancer patients

GE Healthcare’s cardiac ultrasound strain assessment software helps quantify left ventricular wall motion to determine if there is damage to cardiac function due to cancer therapy.

Cardio-oncology is an emerging field that combines the expertise of both cardiology and oncology to assess and treat cancer patients for the second leading cause of death among cancer survivors — cardiovascular disease brought on by their treatments. Specific types of chemotherapy and chest-directed radiation therapy are known to cause cardiac dysfunction, mainly due to cardiotoxicity — the symptoms of which may not present until months or even years after cancer treatment.