Study Finds Cancer Survivors Have Higher Risk of Developing Heart Disease

A study conducted recently discovered that nearly 35% of Americans who have a history with cancer have a higher chance of contracting cardiovascular ailments in the next 10 years, as compared to roughly 23% of Americans who do not have cancer.

Researchers from The Ohio State University discovered that the average approximated 10-year risk for an individual who survived cancer was nearly 8%, in comparison with individuals who did not have a cancer history, which was found to be 5%. This was based off of a risk calculator that approximates an individual’s 10-year risk of developing stroke or heart disease.

The study was reported in the “PLOS ONE” journal.

Xiaochen Zhang, the study’s lead researcher, explained that cardiovascular ailments, cancer and obesity shared some risk factors, adding that in addition to these factors, individuals suffering from cancer also received cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation, which could affect their cardiovascular health. Zhang referred to this as cardiotoxicity.

Zhang and his colleagues decided to conduct this study in a bid to improve recognition of these risks, both among patients as well as healthcare providers, noting that the risks could be poorly understood or underestimated.

Ohio State associate professor of epidemiology Ashley Felix, who was the senior author of the study, explained that while scientists were getting better at treating cancer and lowering the mortality rate, the focus needed to be shifted onto the noncancer risks that followed a diagnosis, one of which, she stated, was cardiovascular disease.

The data that was utilized in the study was obtained from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which had been carried out by the CDC from 2007–16. For their investigation, the researchers analysed data that had been collected from 15,095 individuals aged between 40 and 79 with no history of cardiovascular ailments. Nearly 13% of them revealed a cancer history.

The large study size allowed the researchers to conduct an analysis based on age group as well as cancer types. Individuals who were in their 60s as well as survivors of kidney, bladder, prostate and testicular cancers were found to have a higher chance of getting cardiovascular disease. The researchers also discovered that a personal history of diabetes, high systolic blood pressure and older age was common in individuals who had survived cancer.

Felix noted that it was important for healthcare providers and researchers to observe the increasing number of survivors of cancer, which included younger adults, adding that if cancer prevalence in young adults continued growing, then researchers could expect a huge burden of cardiovascular ailments for those adults.

Still on the subject of cancer survival, many entities are contributing towards the improving statistics of individuals who have beat this dreaded disease. One of those companies is Imagin Medical Inc. (CSE: IME) (OTCQB: IMEXF), which specializes in developing surgical imaging technology so that surgeons can have a clear view of cancerous tissues during procedures to remove those malignant tissues.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Imagin Medical Inc. (CSE: IME) (OTCQB: IMEXF) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/IMEXF

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