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Yale University

Assessing Cardiovascular Disease Risk In Women Newly Diagnosed With Breast Cancer

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

<p>This prospective, descriptive study was designed to explore the baseline cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors of women newly diagnosed with breast cancer prior to receiving treatment with anthracyclines and/or trastuzumab. Women diagnosed with breast cancer are at risk for developing CVD and may experience increased risk factors related to breast cancer diagnoses and treatments. The specific aim was to determine baseline cardiovascular risk through the use of the Framingham General Cardiovascular Risk Assessment Score (FGCVRAS) calculation and heart/vascular age calculation. Subjects included 30 women (mean age 49.97). Mean FGCVRAS was 5.58% (SD 5.68), and mean heart/vascular age was 49.62 years (SD 18.33) with 9 women having heart/vascular ages that exceeded their actual ages. At a cardiovascular risk of approximately 5.3%, vascular age began to exceed actual age. At baseline, only 3 of the 30 women had ever had a cardiovascular risk assessment, 14 women had at least two CVD risk factors, and 6 women met diagnostic criteria for metabolic syndrome. Multiple regression showed that HDL, glucose, waist circumference, and mean systolic blood pressure most contributed to CVD risk as calculated by the FGCVRAS. At baseline, women diagnosed with breast cancer demonstrate a significant risk burden for CVD that needs to be assessed and addressed prior to beginning potentially cardiotoxic treatments.</p>

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)
Level thesis:degree_level
Open Access Thesis
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Yale University School of Nursing
Year
2012

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Smith, Ashleigh Kristina
Contributors dc:contributor
  • Jessica S. Coviello

Subjects

dc:subject × 1

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Repository record dc:identifier
https://elischolar.library.yale.edu/ysndt/1014
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:elischolar.library.yale.edu:ysndt-1013

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Yale University
Base URL
elischolar.library.yale.edu/do/oai/
Last updated
2026-07-24
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Smith, Ashleigh Kristina. Assessing Cardiovascular Disease Risk In Women Newly Diagnosed With Breast Cancer. Open Access Thesis thesis, 2012. https://elischolar.library.yale.edu/ysndt/1014