[Cardiotoxicity relatively common in cancer treatment]. / Kardiotoxicitet relativt vanligt vid cancerbehandling - Samarbete mellan kardiologi och onkologi kan ge bättre vård.

Modern cancer therapy has noticeably improved the prognosis for various cancer diseases, but cardiovascular side effects are not uncommon, both in short and long term. The individual patient's cardiovascular risk profile affects the risk of developing side effects. Potential underestimation of this risk can lead to life-long severe cardiac disease for a patient that has been cured from cancer. Overestimation of the risk can lead to withdrawal of life-saving cancer treatment because of potentially reversible or mild cardiac side effects. A multidisciplinary approach will lead to better handling of cardio-oncologic patients.

Sudden cardiac arrest during emergency caesarean delivery in a 31-year-old woman, due to accelerated structural valve degeneration of an aortic valve bioprosthesis.

The choice of prosthetic valve to implant in women of childbearing age requiring a valve replacement is challenging. Mechanical valves mandate the use of oral anticoagulation (OAC) for the prevention of thromboembolic complications, but the use of OAC during pregnancy can lead to maternal and fetal complications, in particular, warfarin embryopathy. Conversely, the use of bioprosthetic valves during pregnancy eliminates the need for OAC, but can instead be associated with accelerated structural valve degeneration. We present the case of a 31-year-old woman with a bioprosthetic valve in the aortic position, who developed undetected accelerated structural valve degeneration 5.5 years following implantation of a Mitroflow bioprosthetic aortic valve, and who suffered a catastrophic complication during emergency caesarean delivery as a result.