- Date:
- July 11, 2016
- Source:
- American College of Cardiology
- Summary:
- People who develop heart failure after their first heart attack have a greater risk of developing cancer when compared to first-time heart attack survivors without heart failure, according to a study.
FULL STORY
People who develop heart failure after their first heart attack have a greater risk of developing cancer when compared to first-time heart attack survivors without heart failure, according to a study in theJournal of the American College of Cardiology.
Heart failure refers to a number of conditions that can affect the heart's structure and the way the heart works and, over time, make it harder for the heart to pump enough blood and oxygen to meet the body's needs. It is associated with a higher risk of death than other types of heart disease.
Death from heart failure can often be attributed to direct cardiac causes such as heart failure symptoms, inadequate blood supply and irregular heartbeats; however, the noncardiac causes of heart failure death, such as cancer, are becoming increasingly recognized as researchers learn more about their association with the disease.
While cancer is usually considered a separate cause of death from heart disease, studies have been conducted to determine an association between heart disease and an increased cancer risk. This group of researchers previously looked at increased risk of cancer among heart failure patients and showed a 70 percent increase in risk.
In this new study, they looked at cancer risk in patients who developed heart failure after their first heart attack. Researchers chose to compare those with and without heart failure after heart attack because these patient groups have a lot in common, including atherosclerosis, risk factors, treatments received and follow-up routines. The factors that may differ between the groups, such as older age, obesity, smoking and diabetes, are known and can be controlled for, providing for comparison groups that may provide more information on the impact of heart failure on subsequent cancer occurrence than other heart disease groups.
Researchers looked at records for 1,081 patients in Olmsted County, Minnesota, who had their first heart attack between November 2002 and December 2010. Patient data was from the Rochester Epidemiological Project.
After an average of 4.9 years of follow up, 228 patients, or 21 percent, were diagnosed with heart failure and 28 of those patients, or 12.3 percent, developed cancer. In comparison, 8.2 percent of patients without heart failure were diagnosed with cancer. The average time from first heart attack to cancer diagnosis was 2.8 years, with the most common cancers being respiratory, digestive and hematologic.
No comments:
Post a Comment