Patients receiving hormonal therapy to treat breast or prostate cancer may be increasing the risk of dying from heart disease, the American Heart Association advises in a new scientific statement.

In a review of the available research, the statement authors find that patients receiving hormone therapy need to be monitored closely for heart risks, and the longer the treatment lasts, the greater the risk of CVD.

“We as clinicians — oncologists, cardiologists and primary care physicians — taking care of patients on these medications need to be aware of their effects on the cardiovascular system,” said the chair of the scientific statement writing group, Dr Tochi Okwuosa, director of the cardio-oncology program at Rush University Medical Centre in Chicago, US.

“I think because these agents are usually given by mouth or injection every few months, as compared to chemotherapy, it’s easy to forget their cardiotoxicity,” Dr Okwuosa said.