A new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) looked at how cancer may age the heart. Researchers found that adult male cancer survivors’ hearts appeared to be 8.5 years older than their actual age. The hearts of female cancer survivors appeared to be 6.5 years older. “In the past decades we have witnessed a revolution in cancer therapy that has now transformed cancer from being a death sentence to a chronic illness,” says Salim Hayek, MD, a cardiologist at the Michigan Medicine Frankel Cardiovascular Center and an assistant professor of internal medicine. “While it is a major accomplishment, many patients survive cancer only to die of heart disease. Treatment of cancer and heart disease should go hand in hand to ensure a longer and better life.” Dr. Hayek was not involved in the CDC study.
Breakdown of the Study
The CDC analysis included 846,396 participants between ages 30 and 74, 69,053 of whom were cancer survivors. The researchers looked at both predicted heart age and excess heart age. RELATED: Heart Health Tips for Women Through All Stages of Life “Predicted heart age is the age at which the estimated risk of a cardiovascular event would be considered normal," explains Lisa C. Richardson, MD, the director of the CDC’s division of cancer prevention and control and a spokesperson for the report. “If your heart age is greater than your actual age, you are at greater risk for a cardiovascular event.” For example, “if there were a 50-year-old patient with the heart age of 65, then their risk is equivalent to that of a 65-year-old with normal risk factors,” she says. Excess heart age is the difference between predicted heart age and actual age. To determine predicted heart age, researchers looked at a combination of traditional risk factors for cardiovascular disease such as age, sex, smoking, and the presence of diabetes and hypertension. The average age of the 22,759 men who participated in the study was 48.7, and the average age of the 46,294 women was 48.3. The analysis showed that the predicted heart age was 57.2 years for the male participants and 54.8 years for women. The researchers say physicians can use predicted heart age as a tool to encourage patients to lead healthier lives. “It has been found that people are more likely to understand their cardiovascular disease risk if it is presented to them as an age,” Dr. Richardson says. “This is particularly true for individuals with a higher level of modifiable risk factors.” Among cancer survivors in the study, groups with the greatest average excess heart age were those age 60 to 74, those with less than a high school education, and those with less than $35,000 annual household income. Non-Hispanic Black survivors also had, on average, higher excess heart ages than non-Hispanic white survivors. “Since cardiovascular disease and cancer share similar risk factors, disparities seen in cardiovascular disease are also seen in cancer survivors, as well as the intersection of the two,” Richardson says. “Additional studies could be employed to explore the external predictors of predicted heart age by race.”
The Importance of a Heart-Healthy Lifestyle for Cancer Survivors
While predicted heart age can be helpful in simplifying discussions with patients regarding reducing risk factors for heart disease, Hayek says it may not give the whole picture. “For example, a patient might have a relatively normal ‘predicted heart age,’ but could still be at higher risk of cardiac events because of the other unmeasured factors such as inflammation and cardiotoxicity [damage to the heart from cancer treatment],” he says. What’s more, the impact of traditional cardiovascular risk factors is amplified in patients with cancer. “The reason for this heightened impact is unclear, but is thought to be due to chronic inflammation, or a persistently hyperactive immune system, triggered by cancer cells and cancer therapy, which is often injurious to both cancer cells and normal tissue,” Hayek says. This means that patients with cancer must be even more diligent about living a heart-healthy life in order to reduce their risk of heart disease, he says. Steps cancer survivors can take to reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease include:
Quit smoking.Maintain a healthy weight.Eat a healthy diet consisting of low-fat, low-salt foods.Exercise regularly.Control cholesterol and blood pressure.Manage diabetes.Reduce stress.Limit alcohol intake.
These lifestyle changes should be initiated as early as the time of diagnosis and be maintained during and after treatment for cancer, Hayek says. “Overcoming cancer is the hardest challenge anyone can face, one that doesn’t end after completion of treatment,” he says. “Nurture your recovering body as you make the best out of your second chance at life.” RELATED: Cholesterol-Lowering Statins May Protect Against Heart Damage From Chemotherapy Drugs, Study Finds
