Many Cancer survivors face increased risk of heart disease

Many adult cancer survivors face an increased risk of heart disease, worsening their long-term survival odds beyond the effect of tumors alone, a U.S. study suggests.
In a study of about 110,000 people, survivors of certain cancers, including tumors in the lung, ovaries, bone marrow and lymph system, had a significantly higher risk of cardiovascular disease than individuals with no history of malignancies, the study found.
Among the 36,000 cancer survivors in the study, just 60 percent of the those who developed cardiovascular disease survived after eight years, compared with 81 percent of cancer patients without heart problems.
“The findings from the current study speak to the growing long-term morbidity associated with cardiovascular disease in cancer survivors, and to the critical importance of strategies to improve cardiovascular health in at risk survivors long after completion of cancer therapy,” said lead study author Dr. Saro Armenian of City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center in Duarte, California.
Previous research has linked cancer chemotherapies known as anthracyclines to weakening of the heart muscle. Research has also tied some radiation therapy to cardiac rhythm disorders and structural damage in arteries and heart valves.