Breast cnacer and heart problems

With a long family history of heart disease, stroke, and other heart issues, Monique knew her own risk for heart and circulatory problems was high. So high that when she was diagnosed with breast cancer, she decided to forgo one of the recommended chemotherapy agents—Adriamycin—due to the damage it can cause to the heart. Despite this decision, 3 years into her survivorship, Monique suffered her first stroke. In bed, it felt like there was a dead weight on my chest my right arm , so I tried to get up to look in the mirror to see what was happening, but I fell. Her cardiologist told her that the chemotherapy she received for breast cancer had changed her blood chemistry, causing her blood to thicken, especially when she was dehydrated.

A beta-blocker used to manage heart disorders could greatly reduce the progression of breast cancer. Researchers at Melbourne's Monash University have discovered that carvedilol could decisively increase the odds of surviving the cancer, which kills about Australian women a year. In collaboration with a team from the Cancer Registry of Norway, the Monash researchers investigated the effects of the drug in more than breast cancer patients. They found if women happened to be taking carvedilol when diagnosed, they had a greater chance of survival than those not taking the drug. Mr Gillis said treatment with carvedilol blocked the effects of sympathetic nervous system activation, which reduced primary tumour growth and metastasis in a mouse model of breast cancer and prevented invasion by breast cancer cell lines.

Now, the most recent study finds that the risk of recurrent breast cancer and death due to breast cancer may increase in people who had a heart attack, stroke or heart failure after being treated for early-stage breast cancer. There are many types of chemotherapy, but one very common and effective type is the anthracycline doxorubicin. This is great for treating breast cancer, but anthracyclines can cause irreversible damage to the heart. Within the group, people had some type of heart problem in the years after being diagnosed with breast cancer. Of the 1, people included in that analysis, had some type of heart problem in the years after being diagnosed with breast cancer.

Current breast cancer treatments can negatively affect cardiovascular health. Recently, the American Heart Association released its first scientific statement on cardiovascular disease and breast cancer. This statement includes a comprehensive overview of the prevalence of both diseases, shared risk factors, cardiotoxic effects of therapy and the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease in breast cancer patients. Doctors warn of increased heart risks after treatment for breast cancer. Reasons not to freak out about risk of heart disease after breast cancer.