Prevalence of Cardiovascular Diseases Among Breast Cancer Survivors: Findings From the NHANES 2003-2018.

PURPOSE

To examine the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) among breast cancer (BC) survivors.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional observational study using the data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2003-2018.

SETTING

United States (US).

SUBJECTS

A nationally representative sample of US women with a history of BC.

MEASURES

Self-reported CVD status (i.e., coronary artery disease (CAD), heart failure, and stroke) and time of the CVD diagnosis were used to categorize BC survivors into three groups: No CVD, preexisting CVD, and post-acquired CVD after BC diagnosis.

ANALYSIS

The prevalence of CVD among BC survivors were estimated by demographic characteristics. Complex sampling design of the NHANES was accounted to estimate the population-level prevalence.

RESULTS

A total of 658 BC survivors were identified, representing 3.01% (≈3.4 million) of the US women aged ≥18 years old. Of those, ≈6% (≈.2 million) had preexisting CVD and ≈11% (≈.4 million) had at least one CVD diagnosed after BC diagnosis, with an average time elapsed ranging from ≈5 years for heart failure to ≈9 years for CAD and stroke. The prevalence of CVD among BC survivors differed by demographic characteristics including age, education, marital status, menopausal, and physical activity levels.

CONCLUSION

Our findings suggest that BC survivors are at risk of suffering from CVD and public health strategies for the long-term management of CVD risk factors in this vulnerable population group is recommended.