Statins may help protect heart, study says

Statins – a type of medication used to lower cholesterol – may protect women’s hearts from damage while they undergo treatment for early-stage breast cancer, a study suggests.

Chemotherapies with anthracycline, as well as the targeted cancer medicine trastuzumab, are commonly used to treat breast cancer but can be toxic to the heart.

Researchers in Canada have found that taking statins may protec t against the cardiac cell damage but are yet to figure out how they work.

Husam Abdel-qadir, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Toronto’s In s t i t u t e of He a l t h Policy, Management and Evaluation in Canada, said: “Two types of cancer med ica t ion s , anthracyclines and trastuzumab, are effective treatments for many women with breast cancer.

“However, the risk of heart muscle damage has limited their use, particularly in women who are at higher risk for heart problems because of their age or other medical issues.

“The mechanisms for these medications are essential to kill breast cancer cells – however, these processes can also damage the cells of the heart muscle, leading to weakening of the heart.”

The researchers looked at the health records of women aged 66 and above in Ontario between 2007 and 2017.

Researchers found that in the 666 pairs of women treated with anthracyclines, those taking statins were 55% less likely to be treated at the hospital for heart failure.

For the 390 pairs of women receiving trastuzumab, that figure was 54% .

However, the experts said that their study is observational and further research is needed.