Home > Cancer Risks > Care of Your Heart

Hodgkin Lymphoma: Care of Your Heart


Chemotherapy and radiation therapy given during treatment for Hodgkin Lymphoma and related cancers can increase your risk for serious heart problems, with symptoms appearing post-treatment and throughout survivorship. There are ways to protect your heart, screen for any problems, and treat any concerns. You can see a cardiac specialist if you have any questions. Symptoms of cardiac concerns may include shortness of breath, chest pain, dizziness, weakness, or fatigue. Please call your doctor immediately if you have any of these symptoms.
Modifiable Risk Factors
There are things that you can do to care for your heart. More information is available on our Healthy Living page.
  • Diet and exercise: Engage in regular physical activity
  • Weight management
  • Quit smoking
  • Manage blood glucose, cholesterol, and blood pressure

There are several risk-enhancing factors that increase your risk of heart problems including:
  • Family history of early heart disease (men less than 55 years old, women less than 65 years old)
  • High cholesterol
  • Metabolic syndrome
  • Chronic kidney disease
  • Chronic inflammatory conditions (e.g., rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, HIV/AIDS, etc.)
  • History of preeclampsia or early menopause
  • High-risk ethnicity (e.g., South Asian ancestry)
  • High triglycerides
Caring for your Heart after Radiation Therapy with Dr. Anju Nohria
Caring for your Heart after Chemotherapy with Dr. Anju Nohria
Heart Screening
Monitoring blood pressure and cholesterol:
  • Routine assessment of blood pressure and cholesterol is recommended.

Ultrasound of the heart:
  • If you had chest radiation, get a heart ultrasound 10 years and beyond after you complete treatment.
  • If the results are normal, it can be repeated every 5 years.
  • If you had anthracycline-based chemotherapy, ask your doctor when you should get a heart ultrasound. In either case, your doctor should refer you to a cardiologist if the ultrasound is abnormal.

Heart Screening (electrocardiogram, EKG):
  • If you had chest radiation, you should get an EKG 10 years after treatment.
  • If the EKG is normal, you should then get a cardiac stress test.
  • If the EKG or cardiac stress test are abnormal, your doctor should refer you to a cardiologist to review results and consider more testing.

Note that screening guidelines are from the Hodgkin Lymphoma-specific National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines here.
 Cardiac Services Provided through the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Adult Survivorship Program with Dr. Anju Nohria
​​Please proceed to next module: