A recent journal scan reviews a study that determined if heart failure (HF) is associated with cancer incidence and cancer-specific mortality.

Using participants from the Physicians’ Health Studies I and II, which are two randomized controlled trials of aspirin and vitamin supplements that included annual health evaluations and determination of cancer and HF diagnoses, the authors confirmed that HF is not associated with an increased risk of cancer among male physicians. Read more.

Another recent journal scan, reviews a study on the competing causes of death and prognostic factors in breast cancer patients and the heart-specific mortality in relation to the general population.

The authors found that heart-specific mortality among breast cancer survivors is not higher than in the general population and that human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive patients do not have increased heart-specific mortality compared with HER2-negative patients. Read more.

Also, test your knowledge with a Patient Case Quiz on a 67-year-old woman with a history of breast cancer who is admitted to intensive care for pneumonia.

Which option best explains her electrocardiogram? Take the quiz on ACC.org.