Heart and Lung Complications: Assessment and Prevention of Venous Thromboembolism and Cardiovascular Disease in Patients With Multiple Myeloma
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BACKGROUND: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) and cardiovascular (CV) disease can occur in patients with multiple myeloma. Although VTE and CV disease are separate medical conditions, they can be serious and even life-threatening. OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this article are to describe risk factors for cancer-associated VTE, describe the influence of CV disease on patients with multiple myeloma, and review the approaches to VTE and CV disease identification and treatment. METHODS: PubMed and CINAHL (R) databases were used to identify literature to describe VTE and CV in patients diagnosed with multiple myeloma. FINDINGS: When present in patients with multiple myeloma, VTE and CV disease can limit patient tolerance for myeloma treatment and, therefore, decrease therapeutic options.