AUTHOR=Williams Trent D. , Kaur Amandeep , Warner Thomas , Aslam Maria , Clark Vanessa , Walker Rhonda , Ngo Doan T. M. , Sverdlov Aaron L. 

TITLE=Cardiovascular outcomes of cancer patients in rural Australia

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine

VOLUME=Volume 10 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cardiovascular-medicine/articles/10.3389/fcvm.2023.1144240

DOI=10.3389/fcvm.2023.1144240

ISSN=2297-055X

ABSTRACT=BACKGROUND: Cancer and heart disease are common health conditions, associated with high morbidity and mortality, with even worse outcomes in regional areas. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in cancer survivors. We aimed to evaluate the cardiovascular outcomes of patients receiving chemotherapy in a regional hospital.
METHODS: This was an observational retrospective cohort study in a single rural hospital over a ten-year period (17th February 2010 to 19th March 2019). Outcomes of all patients receiving chemotherapy during this period were compared to those who were admitted to the hospital without a cancer diagnosis.
RESULTS: 268 patients received chemotherapy during the study period. High rates of cardiovascular risk factors: hypertension (52.2%), smoking (54.9%), and dyslipidaemia (38.4%) were observed in the chemotherapy group. Patients who had chemotherapy were more likely to be readmitted with ACS (5.9% vs 2.8% p=0.005) and AF (8.2% vs 4.5% p=0.006) when compared to the general admission cohort. There was a statistically significant difference observed for all cause cardiac readmission, with a higher rate observed in the chemotherapy group (17.1% vs13.2% p=0.042). Patients undergoing chemotherapy had a higher rate of mortality (49.5% vs 10.2%, p=<0.001) and shorter time (days) from first admission to death (401.06 vs 994.91, p=<0.001) when compared to the general admission cohort
CONCLUSION: There is an increased incidence of adverse cardiovascular outcomes, including higher readmission rate, higher mortality rate and shorter survival in people undergoing cancer treatment in rural environments. Rural cancer patients demonstrated a high burden of cardiovascular risk factors.