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Therapy-induced heart damage among breast cancer survivors is a true long-term and/or late stage side effect according to the study linked below. I say this because only a small fraction of breast cancer patients exhibit heart damage in the days, weeks and months following cardiotoxic chemo and/or radiation.
But according to the study below, that percentage of therapy-induced heart damage among breast cancer survivors increases steadily over the years to more than 15% after 15 years.
I was diagnosed with therapy-induced cardiomyopathy myself 15 years after my own cardiotoxic chemo regimens. My cancer is different from breast cancer however.
Cardiotoxic chemotherapy regimens is the issue here I guess. Not what kind of cancer you have.
Below is a listing of all cardiotoxic chemo regimens for breast cancer patients.
Key Considerations:
What I have experienced about cardiotoxicity and the heart damage it causes, regardless of the type of cancer you have, is that damage is done immediately of course. but will continue to exhibit itself in the years that follow.
I have read studies documenting therapy-induced heart damage rearing its ugly head fully 30 years after active treatment.
The solution? The study below ecourages regular echocardiograms. While regular diagnostic testing is important, it is only one of many possible therapies.
As a cancer survivor who lives with therapy-induced cardiomyopathy, I live as heart-healthy a lifestyle as I can which includes:
When I was first diagnosed with therapy-induced cardiomyopathy, I was prescribed metoprolol. I had a reaction to this common heart medication and made the decision to pursue an evidence-based but non-conventional heart healthy lifestyle as possible.
That decision was in early 2016. My EF increased, my BP moderated, I live with chronic Atrial Fibrillation- in short, I manage my chemotherapy-induced cardiomyopathy without the use of any conventional therapies.
If y9u would like to learn more about therapy-induced heart damage among breast cancer survivors and possible therapies- both conventional and non-conventional, email me at David.PeopleBeatingCancer@gmail.com
Hang in there,
“In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Bostany et al found that the cumulative incidence of cardiac dysfunction reached 15.3% at 15 years from the start of cardiotoxic treatments in breast cancer survivors…
Key Findings
A total of 2,808 echocardiograms in 829 breast cancer survivors were assessed. Median age at breast cancer diagnosis was 54.2 years (range = 20.3–86.3 years). Median follow-up was 8.6 years (range = 1.8–39.8 years).
Cardiotoxic therapy consisted of
The cumulative incidence of cardiac dysfunction increased from 1.8% at 2 years to 15.3% at 15 years from the start of cardiotoxic therapy. Longitudinal analysis among all patients showed an annual decline of 0.29% in LVEF (P = .009) over 20 years from breast cancer diagnosis.
On multivariate analysis, factors associated with a significantly increased risk of cardiac dysfunction included Black race (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.15, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.37–3.38); receipt of cardiotoxic therapies including anthracyclines (HR = 2.35, 95% CI = 1.25–4.4) and anthracyclines and trastuzumab/pertuzumab (HR = 3.92, 95% CI = 1.74–8.85) vs left breast radiation alone; receipt of selective estrogen receptor modulators (HR = 2.0, 95% CI = 1.2–3.33); and history of hypertension prior to cancer diagnosis (HR = 3.16, 95% CI = 1.63–6.1).
Late-onset cardiac dysfunction was most common among patients exposed to anthracyclines and radiation therapy, and early-onset dysfunction was more common among patients exposed to anthracyclines and trastuzumab/pertuzumab.
The investigators concluded, “These findings provide evidence to support echocardiographic surveillance for several years after cardiotoxic therapy and also suggest a need to examine the efficacy of management of cardiovascular risk factors to mitigate risk.”