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Do Patients with Cancer Receive the Right Drugs for Heart Attack?
Patients were less likely to receive recommended drugs and interventions for myocardial infarction and were more likely to die in the hospital if they had a history of cancer, according to a study published online in the European Heart Journal: Acute Cardiovascular Care (doi: 10.1177/2048872617729636).
Researchers looked at patients enrolled in the Acute Myocardial Infarction in Switzerland (AMIS Plus) registry between 2002 and 2015 and compared 1981 patients with a history of cancer with 1981 patients with no cancer history but matched for age, gender, and cardiovascular risk factors.
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“Patients with a history of cancer were less likely to receive evidence-based treatments for myocardial infarction,” said senior author Dragana Radovanovic, MD, head of the AMIS Plus Data Centre in Zurich, Switzerland, in a European Society of Cardiology press release (September 20, 2017).
“They were 24% less likely to undergo percutaneous coronary intervention, 18% less likely to receive P2Y12 antagonists, and 13% less likely to receive statins. They had also more complications and were 45% more likely to die while in hospital.”
According to the study, patients with a history of cancer had a 44% increased risk of cardiogenic shock, a 47% higher chance of bleeding, and a 67% greater likelihood of developing heart failure compared with patients with no cancer history.
At this point, researchers are unsure what is behind the difference in heart attack care and mortality.
“More research is needed to find out why cancer patients receive suboptimal treatment for myocardial infarction and have poorer outcomes,” Dr Radovanovic said.
“Possible reasons could be the type and stage of cancer, or severe comorbidities. Some cancer patients may have a very limited life expectancy and refuse treatment for myocardial infarction.”
—Jolynn Tumolo
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