The chemical treatments used for chemotherapy can affect the heart, including causing heart failure. This is why it is important tobe followed by a cardiologist after chemotherapy. But a recent study conducted by cardiologists and oncologists from the University of Vienna (Austria) and published in the journal Heartshows that the Cancer itself could harm the health of the heart.
Damage to the heart
The researchers followed 555 cancer patients who had never been treated with chemotherapy. They measured in their blood the levels of certain proteins responsible for cardiovascular disease. These molecules turned out to be in high concentrations in the patients at the start of the study, and their quantity even increased as the cancer progressed. “These markers suggest the presence of functional and asymptomatic myocardial damage directly related to disease progression.“Reveal the authors of the study. Cancer cells themselves could manufacture these molecules that cause heart problems, which leads to a higher risk of mortality.
Reduce cancer-related mortality
Preventing heart disease by monitoring the amount of these proteins in patients and preventing them from being made could therefore be a way of processing interesting for reduce cancer-related mortality. In France, cancer is the leading cause of death in men and the second in women.
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