www.elitecme.com | 2019 | HEART HEALTH 15 titis C-positive donors has increased steadily since 2014, along with deaths attributed to drug overdoses related to the nation’s opioid epidemic, according to the Moayedi-led study. The sharing of needles among addicts is said to be a contributing factor to the rise of hepatitis infections. Additionally, the study found that the average age of heart donors with hepatitis C has dropped in the last five years from 47 to 35 because the opioid epidemic has predomi- nantly affected young adults. But the younger age also means fewer health problems, such as high blood pressure and diabetes, associ- ated with the younger donors as compared to the older donors. Everything else being equal, these candidates would normally be consid- ered “incredibly viable” outside of the hepatitis C, according to Moayedi. A separate study released in the Journal of the American Heart Association, found a simi- lar positive outcome for patients who received hearts from donors who were obese. Using the same national transplant registry, researchers examined data on nearly 32,000 adults who received heart transplants from 2001 through 2016 and separated the donors into four groups based on their body mass index (BMI). Of all transplant patients, about 41 percent received a heart from donors with a normal BMI. The other patients received hearts from patients with a BMI classify- ing them as overweight (35 percent of total donors), obese (15 percent), or extremely obese (9 percent). Researchers reportedly found no significant difference in overall survival among the four groups. BREAST CANCER PATIENTS REQUIRE HEART HEALTH GUIDANCE Cancer survivors are increasingly susceptible to cardiovascular disease as they age. Officials from the American Heart Association (AHA) are urging nurses and other healthcare providers to remember that patients who’ve been diagnosed with breast cancer must be mindful of their cardiovascular health because the two are often related, inter- sect in several ways, and older cancer survi- vors are more at risk of cardiovascular disease. Both conditions also share many risk fac- tors, including age, tobacco use, diet, obesity, and sedentary lifestyle. Additionally, two of the leading drugs used to treat breast tumors, doxorubicin and trastuzumab, can decrease the heart’s pumping ability and lead to left ven- tricular dysfunction and heart failure. Radiation and other treatments can scar or stiffen heart tissue and cause hypertension, arrhythmias, myocardial ischemia, valvular disease, thromboembolic disease, and peri- carditis, according to the AHA. A scientific statement released by the AHA is intended to spotlight the links between the diseases and spur more research to prevent and treat them: “Improvements in early detection and treat- ment of breast cancer have led to an increasing number of breast cancer survivors who are at risk of long-term cardiac complications from cancer treatments,” according to the state- ment. “Although cardiology and oncology are often considered separate medical fields, they are frequently intertwined. Multidisciplinary care is critical in the management of cancer patients.” According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, seven times more women die from heart disease than they do cancer. Experts recommend factoring heart health into decisions about treatment and monitoring the cardiovascular system at all phases of care when a breast cancer diagnosis is made to minimize risks. Patients should also be encouraged to exercise 30-45 minutes five times per week to help reduce the risks of car- diovascular disease. STROKE & HEART ATTACK MAY STEM FROM INFECTIONS Trend reveals that common ailments play role in major cardiovascular events. A new study suggests that viral infections could increase a patient’s chances of experi- encing a stroke or heart attack. According to a study published by the Journal of the American Heart Association (AHA), academic research- ers found a correlation between conditions such as pneumonia and urinary tract infec- tions (UTIs) and increased risk of a coronary event within the next three months. The study reportedly examined a registry of patients tracked over multiple years, including more than 1,300 patients who had a heart attack or other type of coronary event and 727 patients who had an ischemic stroke. Of the heart disease patients, about 37 percent had some type of infection within the previous three months while that number was nearly 30 per- cent among stroke patients, according to the AHA. Additionally, infections substantially increased the odds of having a heart attack or stroke. Those odds were highest in the first two weeks following the infection, according to the report. Kamakshi Lakshminarayan, MD, PhD, a neurologist and the study’s senior author, said in a statement prepared by the AHA that the connection can be linked to infections trigger- ing an inflammatory reaction in the body and the body triggering its white cell production to help ward off the infection. The process also encourages the formation of clots that could block the flow of blood to the heart or brain. The study also raises questions about whether patients hospitalized for infections should also begin receiving treatment to pro- tect them from heart disease and stroke, although additional research may be needed to provide those answers. UTIs were the most common type of infec- tion reported in the study, followed by pneu- monia and other respiratory infections, according to the AHA. Skin and blood infec- tions also were reported. The study reportedly included patients treated for infections while hospitalized and those who received outpatient care. Both groups were more likely to have a cardiovascu- lar event within three months of the infection, but this association appeared to be stronger among the inpatient group, according to the report. Healthcare providers are encouraged to use the data to help to remind patients about vaccinations. n Joe Darrah is a freelance author based in the Philadelphia region who has been covering the healthcare field since 2004 REFERENCES 1. Lorenz J. Wound botulism outbreak linked to heroin raises concern of opioid epi- demic effects. Contagion Live. 2019. Accessed online: www.contagionlive.com/news/ wound-botulism-outbreak-linked-to-hero- in-raises-concern-of-opioid-epidemic-effects 2. MacDonald KL, Rutherford GW, Friedman SM, et al. Botulism and botu- lism-like illness in chronic drug abusers. Ann Intern Med. 1985;102:616-8. |  HEALTH UPDATE