Cancer patients are missing out on safe, effective heart attack treatments
Primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is underutilized among STEMI patients who also have cancer, according to a new study published in European Heart Journal – Acute Cardiovascular Care.
Researchers explored data from more than 1.8 million STEMI patients who received treatment in the United States from 2004 to 2015. While 82.3% of patients without cancer received primary PCI, that number was much smaller for patients with lung cancer (54.2%), breast cancer (64.6%), colon cancer (64.8%), prostate cancer (68.3%) and blood cancer (70.6%).
The team also assessed data on all-cause death, stroke and cardiac complications, noting that PCI appears to be equally effective for STEMI patients with and without cancer.
In addition, to judge the safety of PCI for STEMI patients, the authors focused on major bleeding events. STEMI patients with cancer did experience more bleeding events, they explained, but this was true whether the patient underwent primary PCI or not. This important detail suggests that PCI is not the culprit, meaning PCI is just as safe for patients with cancer as it is for patients without cancer.
“The results indicate that heart attack patients should receive primary PCI regardless of whether or not they have cancer,” lead author Mohamed O. Mohamed, MBBCh, of Royal Stoke University Hospital in the U.K., said in a prepared statement. “The results should prompt cardiologists to offer the same intervention given to those without cancer, with the knowledge that it is equally effective and safe.”
The full study can be read here.
Michael has more than 18 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.