Cardio-oncology
The treatment that saves a life can tire the heart. That can be anticipated.
Cardio-oncology exists because oncology succeeded.
Patients who would not have survived a generation ago now live for years and decades after diagnosis. And some of the treatments that made this possible affect the heart.
Not all of them. Not in every patient. But often enough to be worth looking at in advance rather than in retrospect.
01 What it involves
Before treatment.
A full cardiovascular assessment, established as a baseline. Without a starting measurement, every later change becomes a matter of opinion rather than of evidence.
During treatment.
Monitoring at intervals set by the oncological regimen and by individual risk. The aim is to detect change while it is still reversible and, wherever possible, to allow the oncological treatment to continue uninterrupted.
After treatment.
A cancer survivor remains a patient with cardiovascular risk, sometimes for years. This is the stage most frequently missed — the patient is discharged from oncology and never reaches cardiology.
What the assessment includes
- A cardiovascular risk score calculated at the start of cancer treatment, from medical history, metabolic profile and the treatment regimen.
- Echocardiography, including global longitudinal strain, which can show damage before symptoms appear.
- ECG.
- Cardiac biomarkers: troponin and NT-proBNP.
- Cardiac MRI or CT in complex cases.
- Follow-up every 3 or 6 months depending on treatment, agreed with the treating oncologist.
02 The international context
The European Society of Cardiology published its first dedicated cardio-oncology guidelines in 2022 — a marker that the field had moved from niche interest into standard practice.
The International Cardio-Oncology Society accredits centres that can demonstrate structured care: written protocols, a defined team, a documented patient pathway, and recorded monitoring. Accreditation is granted for what can be evidenced, not for intent.
03 The Romanian context
In Romania, cardiology and oncology largely operate as separate systems. Patients move between them carrying their own information, often without knowing which part of it matters.
There is not yet a standard national pathway for the oncology patient through cardiology. Without one, what happens depends on how well information travels between two consulting rooms.
Regina Maria Floreasca is the first IC-OS-accredited cardio-oncology centre in Romania — and, for now, the only place in the country where that pathway has been verified by the International Cardio-Oncology Society.
The centre was conceived and developed by Dr. Anca Tâu, who leads it.
Official IC-OS listing →
04 What accreditation means for a patient
That the assessment does not depend on who is on duty. That there is a written protocol, the same measurements taken at the same points, and a record any clinician taking over the case can read.
It is not a promise of outcome. It is a promise of method — and in medicine, method is the only thing that can be promised honestly.
05 For cancer survivors
Treatment has ended. Cardiovascular risk has not always ended with it.
Some effects of cancer treatment on the heart appear years after the last cycle. Survivors need periodic cardiac assessment matched to the treatment they received — not an occasional one.
If you have finished cancer treatment and have not had a cardiac assessment since, now is the time.
Book at the cardio-oncology centre · +40 21 926806 For referring oncologists and haematologists
The useful referral is made before the first cycle, not after the first echocardiographic change.
Assessment is indicated for patients receiving anthracyclines or anti-HER2 therapy, those with pre-existing cardiovascular risk factors, those with a history of thoracic radiotherapy, and any patient developing cardiovascular change during treatment.
The response includes a clear recommendation on continuing oncological treatment — not only a description of what was measured.
Referrals: booking +40 21 9268 (Regina Maria) · clinician enquiries: trimiteri@drancatau.com
Get in contact07 Closing
The heart does not fall ill on its own. Nor does it recover separately from the rest.