Kids' Cancer Treatments May Cause Heart Trouble

A new study conducted at the University of Minnesota indicates that doctors should be monitoring young child cancer patients for heart disease risk factors. According to the study, conducted on more than 300 boys and girls ages 9-18, "childhood leukemia survivors had a 9% decrease in arterial health after completing chemotherapy." With the five-year survival rate for childhood cancers in the U.S. currently around 83%, the findings from this study indicate that lifestyle changes aimed at lowering cardiovascular risk in childhood cancer survivors are necessary. To read more about this study, presented on November 17, 2013 at the annual meeting of the American Heart Association in Dallas, click here