Heart success program: An interdisciplinary patient-centered approach to cancer patients with concurrent heart failure

Heart failure is one of the most dreaded complications of cancer treatment that can result from the cardiotoxic effects of chemotherapy, radiation treatment, and targeted therapies. Heart failure can occur acutely during chemotherapy administration, or it can manifest years after the completion of cancer treatment. Survivors of childhood cancer may develop chemotherapy-induced heart failure several years after completing anthracycline-based treatment. Cancer patients who have a concurrent diagnosis of heart failure experience complex clinical management issues that require a multidisciplinary approach and a close collaboration among oncologists, cardiologists, and the health care team. The Heart Success Program provides a model for engaging cancer patients and family members as partners with a shared goal of reducing the burden of heart failure. The Heart Success Program also creates the reinforcing structure of a team of interdisciplinary health care providers who maintain a clear focus on measuring and improving clinical care processes and patient outcomes. The program holds promise for the creation of similar future initiatives aimed at other chronic health problems that affect individuals with cancer.