Definition of Doxorubicin cardiomyopathy

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Doxorubicin cardiomyopathy: Heart disease due to the drug doxorubicin (brand name: Adriamycin), a potent cancer chemotherapy, used for a variety of cancers such as breast cancer and leukemia. Unfortunately, its clinical use is limited by dose-dependent cardiac side effects that can interfere with the pumping action of the heart. You can receive only up to a certain amount of adriamycin during your lifetime. This "lifetime maximum dose" may be lower if you have heart disease risk factors such as radiation to the chest, advancing age, and use of other heart-toxic drugs. Your doctor will check your heart function before you may take any adriamycin and will monitor your heart closely during your treatment. In addition, some patients develop dilated cardiomyopathy years after treatment with adriamycin .