Healthy Diet Lowers Cardiovascular Risk for Breast Cancer Survivors

A recent study published in JNCI Cancer Spectrum by Oxford University Press indicates that adopting a healthy diet can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease among breast cancer survivors (1^✔ ✔Trusted Source
Healthy diet lowers heart disease risk in breast cancer survivors

Go to source). Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of non-breast cancer-related mortality among women with breast cancer. In the United States alone, there are over 3.8 million female breast cancer survivors, who face a heightened risk of cardiovascular disease compared to women without a history of breast cancer. This increased risk is attributed to the cardiac side effects of breast cancer treatments, as well as shared risk factors like aging, sedentary lifestyle, and smoking. Until recently, dietary recommendations for breast cancer survivors have primarily focused on cancer prevention research.

The study drew on data from the Pathways Study, a longitudinal cohort study of women diagnosed with invasive breast cancer, to investigate the link between diet quality and cardiovascular events. The analysis involved 3,415 women diagnosed with invasive breast cancer at Kaiser Permanente Northern California between 2005 and 2013, tracked through 2021.

To assess diet quality, researchers used a scoring system based on the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet which was developed in the 1990s to manage and treat hypertension. The diet emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein, and low-fat dairy. It also limits sodium, red and processed meats, and sugar sweetened beverages. The diet is similar to that recommended by the American Cancer Society, but also encourages consumption of low-fat dairy and nuts, and discourages sodium. The study evaluated heart health tied to these two diets as well as a plant-based diet, the 2020 Healthy Eating Index, and the alternate Mediterranean diet.

The researchers found that women whose diets were most similar to DASH at the time of their breast cancer diagnosis had a 47% lower risk of heart failure, a 23% lower risk of arrhythmia, a 23% lower risk of cardiac arrest, a 21% lower risk of valvular heart disease, and a 25% lower risk of venous thromboembolic disease than the women whose diets were least aligned with DASH.

In a closer examination the researchers found that higher consumption of low-fat dairy reduced the risk for cardiovascular disease-related death, after adjusting for all other food groups. They also found that the relationship between DASH and cardiovascular disease appeared to be modified by the type of chemotherapy treatment a woman received. For example, women whose treatment included an anthracycline and had diets closely aligned with the diet had a lower risk of cardiovascular disease than women least aligned with DASH, a relationship that was not apparent among women on other types of chemotherapy regimens.

“Our findings suggest that we need to begin talking to breast cancer survivors about the potential heart benefits of the DASH diet,” said the paper’s lead author, Isaac J. Ergas, PhD, a staff scientist at the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research. “We know that breast cancer survivors have an elevated risk for cardiovascular disease, and the diet might be able to help improve the overall health of this population.”

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Reference:

1. Healthy diet lowers heart disease risk in breast cancer survivors - (https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1041006)

Source-Medindia