TOPLINE:

Severe valvular heart disease was present in 7.2% of a large cohort of patients with cancer who underwent echocardiography at a tertiary referral center. Those who received a valvular intervention had a 72% reduced risk for mortality.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers conducted a retrospective observational cohort study in patients with cancer to assess the prevalence of severe valvular heart disease, the frequency of valve interventions, and the impact of interventions on survival.
• They included 10,353 adult patients with confirmed cancer diagnoses who underwent transthoracic echocardiography within 12 months at a tertiary referral center.
• Patients had a mean age of 66.2 years, and 46.6% were women.

TAKEAWAY:

• Overall, 7.2% of patients had severe valvular heart disease, with tricuspid regurgitation (3.7%), mitral regurgitation (2.6%), and aortic stenosis (2.2%) being the most common.
• Severe valvular heart disease independently predicted an increased risk for mortality (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 1.46; 95% CI, 1.25-1.71) and cardiovascular death (aHR, 2.62; 95% CI, 2.00-3.43).
• Among patients with severe valvular heart disease, 21.5% underwent a surgical or transcatheter intervention.
• After a median follow-up of 23 months, a valvular intervention was associated with a 72% reduction in the risk for mortality (aHR, 0.28; 95% CI, 0.09-0.87).

IN PRACTICE:

“Only a small proportion of patients underwent interventions to treat valvular heart disease, but when they did, the impact on survival was considerable,” the presenter said. “Our findings highlight the need to refer cancer patients for regular cardiovascular monitoring and also suggest that interventions for valvular heart disease do not need to be withheld in this population.”

SOURCE:

This study was presented by Maximilian Autherith, MD, of Medical University of Vienna in Vienna, Austria, at the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging 2025, on December 11.

LIMITATIONS:

No limitations were explicitly mentioned in this press release.

DISCLOSURES:

This study did not receive any specific funding. The presenter reported having no disclosures related to this study.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.