Regular physical activity may benefit cardiovascular health in women with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy.
- During three months of chemotherapy, a breast cancer patient loses 10-15% of her cardiovascular health.
- This percentage is equivalent to 10 years of normal aging.
PAlmost 60,000 breast cancers were detected in 2018, according to the national cancer institute. the treatment of this disease is mainly based on surgery – partial or total mastectomy – which can be supplemented by chemotherapy, radiotherapy, hormone therapy, or even targeted therapy.
Physical activity improves cardiovascular health by 8%
According to a study published in the journal Trafficthem Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death among women who have had breast cancer. This is not due to the disease itself but to the treatment. This is because chemotherapy damages the heart, blood vessels and muscles. But, according to the researchers, this risk could be limited by practicing regular physical activity. Indeed, with three to four workouts per week, the heart health of women who have undergone chemotherapy could be better.
To achieve this result, the participants in the trial exercised for 12 months at the same time as they were undergoing chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer. Result: the practice of physical activity improved their cardiovascular health by 8% on average, which is equivalent to 8 years of physical fitness.
“By exercising during chemotherapy and continuing to exercise in the months following chemotherapy, [les participantes] were healthier than before they even started treatment, explains Dr. Steve Foulkes, one of the authors of the study, in a communicated. Thus, physical exercise not only prevented chemotherapy-related losses, it helped them recover to a better level of cardiovascular health than they had before starting breast cancer treatment.”.
Breast cancer: physical activity, essential for patient immunity
In general, the heart of a person undergoing chemotherapy loses its ability to pump, causing less oxygen to reach the muscles. In addition, as the muscles work less well, they also use oxygen less efficiently, hence the difficulty of practicing physical activity, which must therefore be adapted. But, by studying MRI images of the participants’ hearts, the researchers observed that the pumping activity of this essential organ was more effective when they exercised regularly. He even performed better than when they weren’t sick and had no treatment. Hence the importance of playing sports throughout your life and not giving up after a cancer diagnosis.
“Although it seems somewhat counter-intuitive (…) exercise acts as a cue or stimulus to help generate energy, and it activates pathways that help protect the body from the physical stresses of everyday life, including chemotherapyinsists Dr. Steve Foulkes, who also points out that sport improves the body’s immunity. Exercise is also thought to help with the metabolic processing of drugs, so the tumor can receive more chemotherapy and the rest of the body is better able to deal with its side effects.“.
The researchers plead for cardiovascular health to be better taken into account in follow-up programs for patients who have had breast cancer. “Exercise should be considered an essential part of cancer treatment alongside prescribed medications, concludes Dr. Steve Foulkes. It decreases the toxicity of chemotherapy and may improve its effectiveness“.