Heart Failure Survivors at Increased Risk of Cancer

A new study published in the Journal of American College of Cardiology reveals that heart failure survivors are more likely to be diagnosed with cancer.

According to the study, heart failure survivors are at a greater risk for cancer, and this could be due to the increased surveillance, side effects of treatments or several other causes.

"Heart failure patients are not only at an increased risk for developing cancer, but the occurrence of cancer increases mortality in these patients," said Dr. Veronique Roger, MD, director of the Mayo Clinic Center for the Science of Health Care Delivery and co-author of the study. "These findings underscore the importance of cancer surveillance in the management of heart failure patients."

The study was based on medical records taken from the Rochester Epidemiology Project. Researchers examined 596 heart failure survivors and they were compared with the same number of healthy participants. The study focused on two 11 year time periods.

The researchers noticed that the patients that were diagnosed between 1979 and 1990 with heart failure had nearly 48 percent increased risk of being diagnosed with cancer whereas those who were diagnosed between 1991 and 2002  had an 86 percent increased risk of cancer.

Roger and his colleagues assume that the increased risk of cancer in heart failure survivors is due to the side effects of the cardiovascular treatments, mechanism linked with physiology of heart failure like inflammation or stress caused by the illness.

Through this study the researchers conclude that heart failure survivors should be monitored closely and regularly for risk of cancer.

The authors conclude that, "These findings also illustrate the importance of multi-morbidity among patients living with chronic diseases and support the concept of providing holistic rather than disease-based care."