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The COVID pandemic has transformed our approach to patient care, research, and training in cardio-oncology. While the early phases of the COVID pandemic were exceptionally frightening, we now can reflect on the innovative changes that brought more effective and patient-centered care to our doorsteps: expansion of telemedicine, integration of digital health, wider adoption of cardiac biomarkers, consolidation, and coordination of cardio-oncology testing. Normally, it takes years for health care systems to adopt new technology or modify patient care pathways; however, COVID pushed healthcare providers and the health systems to change at warp speed. All of these innovations have improved our efficacy and provided a more "patient-centered" approach for our cardio-oncology patients. The changes we have made in cardio-oncology will likely remain well beyond the pandemic and continue to grow improving the cardiovascular care of oncology patients.

Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: Other. Main funding source(s): American Heart Association Pre-doctoral Fellowship Background Cancer patients and survivors have higher burden of cardiovascular diseases than the age-adjusted general population. However, evidence on distribution of cardiovascular disease risk factors in cancer patients is limited. Purpose Our aim was to assess if racial disparities exist in prevalence of cardiovascular disease risk factors in head and neck cancer patients. Methods In this clinical cohort, we included 2299 head neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients diagnosed between 2012-2018 at a National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center. We used a combination of ICD-9/10 codes, medication use and pharmacy records from electronic medical records data, to identify cardiovascular disease risk factors (hypertension, dyslipidemia and diabetes mellitus). We reported prevalence of cardiovascular disease risk factors at and one year-post HNSCC diagnosis, by race, using Chi-square or Wilcoxon test, as appropriate. Results Black HNSCC patients were diagnosed at a slightly younger age (median: 60.0 vs 62.0 years, p-value 0.0745), had a higher proportion of males (p-value 0.0221) and advanced cancer stage at diagnosis (p-value 0.0033), than white HNSCC patients. At diagnosis, 32.63% of black HNSCC patients had hypertension and 34.44% had at least one cardiovascular disease risk factor, compared to 24.59% and 27.74% in whites, respectively (p-values 0.0020 and 0.0127, respectively). At one-year post HNSCC diagnosis, 84.73% of all HNSCC patients had at least one cardiovascular disease risk factor. No statistically significant racial differences were observed for hypertension and diabetes mellitus at one-year post HNSCC diagnosis, however, 37.74% of white HNSCC patients had dyslipidemia compared to 27.49% black patients (p-value 0.003). Conclusion Higher prevalence of hypertension and advanced cancer stage at HNSCC diagnosis in black patients highlights issues of racial disparity and unequal access to care. High prevalence of cardiovascular disease risk factors at one-year post HNSCC diagnosis and increase in dyslipidemia in white patients emphasizes the impact of therapeutic agents and need for routine personalized monitoring of cardiovascular disease risk factors and cardiovascular disease preventive services in high risk HNSCC patients.

Introduction: Cancer survivors have higher rates of cardiovascular disease (CVD) compared to age-adjusted general population. However, traditional CVD risk factors alone do not fully explain increased CVD risk in cancer patients. Cancer-related factors like cancer site, stage and chemotherapy may also contribute to CVD. Despite increase in head neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cases in recent years, little is known about CVD risk in HNSCC patients. We aim to assess association of traditional risk factors and cancer-related factors with CVD in HNSCC patients. Methods: Electronic medical records data of 2391 HNSCC patients diagnosed between 2012-2018 at the UAB O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, were included. ICD-9/10 codes were used to identify HNSCC patients, CVD cases and traditional risk factors. CVD cases were defined as those with composite events of ischemic heart disease and/ or heart failure; controls were without any CVD diagnosis. Cancer site, stage and treatment were included. Logistic regression [OR(95%CI)] was used to assess association of risk factors with CVD, adjusting for age, race, and gender. Results: HNSCC patients were mostly white (82.7%), male (74.7%) and had Stage III/IV cancer (46.6%). Oral cavity was the most common cancer site (32.9%), followed by oropharynx (31.7%); 55.4% patients had hypertension, 23.0% had dyslipidemia, and 16.1% had diabetes. CVD was diagnosed in 16.1% patients, who were more likely to be older [median age 67.0 vs 60.0 years, p Conclusions: Traditional CVD risk factors remain associated with CVD in HNSCC patients. In addition, cancer-related factors (oropharynx cancer, advanced cancer stage and chemotherapy) are also associated with CVD.

Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) of the BCR-ABL fusion protein have dramatically changed the mortality of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) but they carry a risk of serious vascular morbidity. While TKIs do not cure CML, daily oral administration of a TKI can control CML and TKIs are chronic medications. Interestingly, vascular complications can occur at any time a patient is on a TKI. Therefore, it is imperative that all care team members and patients are aware of and watching for possible vascular complications. In the following review, a case of arterial thrombosis secondary to the TKI ponatinib is presented as well as a discussion of thrombotic and vascular adverse events reported with TKIs. TKIs are metabolized through the cytochrome P450 system and important drug interactions to consider are reviewed. Finally, we present a multidisciplinary approach to the management of patients with CML on TKIs.

Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death among cancer survivors. While the field of cardiology as a whole is driven by evidence generated through robust clinical trials, data in cardio-oncology is limited to a relatively small number of prospective clinical trials with heterogeneous groups of cancer patients. In addition, many pharmaceutical trials in oncology are flawed from a cardiovascular perspective because they exclude patients with significant cardiovascular (CV) history and have wide variation in the definitions of CV events and cardiotoxicity. Ultimately, oncology trials often underrepresent the possibility of cardiovascular events in a "real world" population. Thus, the signal for CV toxicity from a cancer treatment is often not manifested until phase IV studies; where we are often caught trying to mitigate the CV effects rather than preventing them. Most of the data about cardiotoxicity from cancer therapy and cardioprotective strategies has been developed from our experience in using anthracyclines for over 50 years with dramatic improvement in cancer survivorship. However, as we are in an era where cancer drug discovery is moving at lightning pace with increasing survival rates, it is imperative to move beyond anthracyclines and commit to research on the cardiovascular side effects of all aspects of cancer therapy with a focus on prevention. We emphasize the role of pre-cancer treatment CV assessment to anticipate cardiac issues and ultimately optimizing CV risk prior to cancer therapy as an opportunity to mitigate cardiovascular risk from cancer therapy.

Importance With 80% of childhood cancer survivors (CCS) alive 30 years after diagnosis, preventable causes of death, such as cardiovascular disease resulting from initial cancer therapy, becomes an important metric. This leads to a more pronounced role for cardiologists in the care of CCS. Observations While routine cardiovascular screening has been traditionally performed by the hematologist/oncologist or primary care provider, our understanding of cardiovascular disease in CCS has advanced. The measurement of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) can now be complemented with additional assessments of strain, LV mass, right ventricular function, diastolic function, valve function, the pericardium, coronary perfusion, and biomarkers. Risk factor modification, prophylaxis, and timing of treatment are also critical. Conclusions and Relevance Early cardiovascular screening and treatment in asymptomatic CCS can be nuanced and complex. As a result, there is a renewed opportunity for the cardiologist to play an integral role in the care of CCS. Key Points Question/Purpose: Review cardiovascular disease and the role of the cardiologist in the care of asymptomatic childhood cancer survivors (CCS). Findings: Cardiovascular care in CCS benefits from a multi-faceted approach that does not overly rely on LVEF. Meaning: Adequate screening and treatment of cardiovascular disease in asymptomatic CCS may often be optimized by the involvement of a cardiologist.

A 34 year old female with undiagnosed myasthenia gravis (MG) presented with shortness of breath and weakness. She was diagnosed with community acquired pneumonia and myasthenic crisis (MC). Her hospital course was complicated by hypoxemic respiratory failure requiring intubation with echocardiography revealing a hyper-dynamic apex and basilar hypokinesis consistent with Reverse Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy (RTCM). We present the first published case of RTCM from MC and review the existing cases of stress induced cardiomyopathies in MG patients.