OXFORD researchers have used high-tech scanning techniques to reveal whether chemotherapy damages a person’s heart before symptoms appear.

Doxorubicin is a commonly used type of chemotherapy drug which slows or stops the growth of cancer cells. It can also cause heart failure, where the heart muscle is damaged and can’t pump blood around the body effectively.

Using a type of imaging called hyperpolarised MRI, Oxford University researchers have found they can see what is happening deep inside the heart’s cells of rats.

If found to work in people, the scanning technique may make it possible for doctors to identify heart damage early.

British Heart Foundation fellow at Oxford Dr Kerstin Timm said: “First and foremost, we need to treat the cancer as effectively as possible but we need to give these patients a good quality of life after treatment, and that means monitoring them and taking any action before they risk developing heart failure.”