The American Heart Association issued a stark warning Thursday for women with breast cancer: Life-saving therapies like chemotherapy and radiation can cause heart failure and other serious cardiac problems, sometimes years after treatment.
The organization said patients and doctors shouldn't avoid the treatments but instead take steps to prevent or minimize the cardiac risks. And it stressed that breast cancer survivors can improve their chances of a long, healthy life by exercising regularly and sticking to a healthy diet.
The cautionary message, published online Thursday in the journal Circulation, came in the organization's first comprehensive scientific statement on the complex interactions between breast cancer and cardiovascular disease.