Can We Mitigate Coronary Heart Disease Risk in Patients with Cancer?

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE OF REVIEW The review focuses on the shared risk factors observed between coronary heart disease and cancer, cancer therapeutics causing coronary heart disease, and potential strategies to mitigate atherosclerosis in patients with cancer. RECENT FINDINGS: The pathophysiology behind how traditional cardiovascular risk factors also contribute to cancer development and mortality is increasingly recognized. In addition, newer cancer therapies, such as immune checkpoint inhibitors, cause increased inflammation leading to increased cardiovascular events. Traditional coronary heart disease risk factors such as obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia also contribute to cancer development and worse cancer outcomes. Cancer therapeutics can also lead to atherosclerotic events in addition to the shared risk factors present at the time of cancer diagnosis. Understanding the pathophysiology, using multidisciplinary care teams, and developing machine learning algorithms for individualized patient care will help to mitigate the risk of coronary heart disease in patients with cancer.