Cancer patients are referred to
cardiologists after certain cancer drugs or radiation treatments have
already weakened their hearts. Special clinics are springing up in
hospitals to take care of the growing number of cancer survivors with
this problem.
"If you wait until the disease has occurred, it may be too late" to
do much good, said Dr. Javid Moslehi, who heads one such specialty
clinic at Vanderbilt University. "We in the cardiology community have to
do a better job of preventing cardiac disease rather than jumping in"
after damage has occurred.
He had no role in the new study, which was done in Norway.
Radiation treatments can harm arteries,
making them prone to harden and clog and cause a heart attack. It also
can cause valve or rhythm troubles. Certain cancer drugs, such as
Herceptin and doxorubicin, sold as Adriamycin and other brands, can hurt
the heart's ability to pump, and lead to heart failure.The new study aimed to prevent cardiac side
effects. Led by Dr. Geeta Gulati of Akershus University Hospital in
Lorenskog, Norway, it involved 120 women with early-stage breast cancer
and tested two drugs long used to treat high blood pressure and heart
failure - candesartan and metoprolol. The drugs are available as
generics and cost less than a dollar a day.
The University of South Florida has a
federally funded study underway, testing drugs to prevent heart failure
for women on Herceptin, that may help answer some questions.
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