Doctor Insights: Radiation Associated Heart Valve Disease

Cancer treatments using radiation therapy are often considered “medical miracles” by patients and their families. Unfortunately, there can be unpredictable and potentially dangerous side effects from radiation on the heart, the lungs and the esophagus. Specific to human heart valves, radiation therapy can cause a fibrosis of the heart valve leaflets and heart valve structure that may require complex surgery. To learn more, we interviewed Dr. Douglas Johnston, the Chief of Cardiac Surgery at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago, Illinois, who has performed over 3,000 heart valve repair and replacement operations. (Video posted on February 28, 2023)