Healthy Diet Lowers Heart Risk in Survivors

Cancer survivors often face an elevated risk of cardiovascular disease, even if they never received cardiotoxic treatments like chemotherapy or radiation. A major new study published in JACC: Advances highlights how simple, healthy eating patterns can significantly alter this trajectory.

Researchers analyzed data from over 8,700 cancer survivors in the UK Biobank over a median follow-up of 12.3 years to track how diets like DASH and the Alternate Healthy Eating Index (AHEI-2010) impact heart health.

Key Takeaways from the Study

 Lower Heart Risk: Participants with the highest adherence to healthy dietary patterns—such as the DASH and Mediterranean diets—showed up to a one-third reduction in the risk of developing cardiovascular disease compared to their peers.

 Targeted Benefits: The DASH diet was most strongly associated with a reduced risk of heart failure, while AHEI-2010 showed the strongest links to lowering ischemic heart disease and stroke risk.

 Gained Life Expectancy: High adherence to healthy diets at age 45 was associated with an estimated 1.7 to 3.3 additional years of life expectancy.

 Key Food Groups: Consuming more vegetables, whole grains, legumes, fish, and dairy drove the overall reduction in cardiovascular risk.

The Takeaway for Cardio-Oncology

Dietary interventions offer a powerful, non-invasive tool to support long-term recovery and protect heart health in cancer survivors, reinforcing the vital role of nutrition in post-cancer care.

Source: Medscape