New evidence has emerged linking the early warning signs of breast cancer to potential heart risks in women.
A study from the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York compared breast artery calcification rates and calcification of arteries to the heart in 292 women. The findings revealed a strong connection between cancer and heart disease risk in women with high calcification rates.
Women with high rates of breast artery calcification (BAC) were three times more likely to have high levels of coronary artery calcification (CAC) as the women in the study with lower BAC rates, the report said.
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The research is being heralded as much for its dual diagnosis approach as for its discovery of the link. The study's primary author, Dr. Laurie Margolies, chief of breast imaging at Mount Sinai Medical Center, said the results offer compelling evidence that medical professionals should be using the calcification screening to check women for both breast and heart disease risks.
"If such information were routinely included in a mammogram report, it could lead women to undergo further tests, including blood tests or heart scans to evaluate their heart risk," Margiolies told The Wall Street Journal. "That could prompt such preventive strategies as changes in diet and exercise or use of cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins to reduce heart risk."
Margolis cautioned that a more comprehensive study involved more women needs to be done to further explore the extent to which BAC on digital mammography predicts CAC.
But the conclusion of this study left no doubt about the connection: "There is a strong quantitative association of BAC with CAC. BAC is superior to standard cardiovascular risk factors," the report said.
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Dan Cook
Dan Cook is a journalist and communications consultant based in Portland, OR. During his journalism career he has been a reporter and editor for a variety of media companies, including American Lawyer Media, BusinessWeek, Newhouse Newspapers, Knight-Ridder, Time Inc., and Reuters. He specializes in health care and insurance related coverage for BenefitsPRO.
