In this May 25, 2017, file photo, chemotherapy drugs are administered to a patient at North Carolina Cancer Hospital in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Health experts are stepping up warnings as more cardiac side effects of some breast cancer treatments come to light. In its first guidance on the issue, released Thursday, Feb. 1, 2018, the American Heart Association urges that women and their doctors carefully weigh the risks and benefits of any therapy that may cause heart damage. AP photo/Gerry Broome photo
Save your life but harm your heart? Health experts are sounding a warning as potential side effects of a growing number of breast cancer treatments come to light.In its first statement on the topic, the American Heart Association Thursday, Feb. 1, said women should consider carefully the risks and benefits of any therapies that may hurt hearts. Not all treatments carry these risks, and there may be ways to minimize or avoid some.“We want patients to get the best treatment for their breast cancer,” Dr. Laxmi Mehta, a women’s heart health expert at Ohio State University who led the panel that wrote the statement, said. “Everyone should have a conversation with their doctor about what are the side effects.”There are more than 3 million breast cancer survivors and nearly
