Risk for Cardiovascular Disease Increased for Adult Cancer Survivors

TUESDAY, July 5, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Adult cancer survivors have an increased risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) compared with those without cancer, independent of traditional CVD risk factors, according to a study published in the July 5 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Roberta Florido, M.D., from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, and colleagues examined the risk for CVD in cancer survivors among 12,414 Atherosclerosis Risk In Communities study participants.

The researchers found that during a median follow-up of 13.6 years, 25 percent of the participants had incident cancer. The age-adjusted incidence rates of CVD were 23.1 and 12.0 per 1,000 person-years for cancer survivors and individuals without cancer, respectively. Cancer survivors had a significantly higher risk for CVD, heart failure, and stroke after adjustment for cardiovascular risk factors, but the risk for coronary heart disease was not increased. Significant associations were seen between CVD risk and breast, lung, colorectal, and hematologic/lymphatic cancers, but not prostate cancer.

“Elucidating the mechanisms underlying the excess risk of CVD among adult cancer survivors, from treatment toxicities to shared biological pathways, is needed in order to define novel strategies for predicting and preventing CVD in this population,” the authors write.

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