The Effects of Secondary Cardiovascular Prevention on Cancer Risk in Patients With Manifest Vascular Disease

Cardiovascular disease and cancer share important risk factors and pathophysiology, including smoking, obesity, physical inactivity, insulin resistance, and inflammation. As the survival of acute ischemic events has increased notably, the number of patients in the chronic phase of vascular disease is ever growing. We previously showed that, besides an increased risk of new cardiovascular events, these patients have a higher risk of cancer (1). Given the shared risk factors of cardiovascular disease and cancer, interventions for secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease could possibly also lower cancer risk. If so, informing patients about these additional effects of secondary cardiovascular prevention could increase treatment adherence. In this study, we evaluated the effects of meeting cardiovascular treatment goals, as defined in the American College of Cardiology (ACC)/American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines for secondary cardiovascular prevention, on cancer risk in patients with manifest vascular disease.

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