RATES OF ACUTE CARDIOVASCULAR ADMISSIONS IN CANCER PATIENTS IN NORTH CAROLINA

Abstract

Background As treatments for cancer continue to progress and survival improves, cancer patients are at greater risk for cardiovascular (CV) hospital admissions. Methods Hospitalizations with a primary diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction, atrial fibrillation, heart failure (HF), stroke, pulmonary embolism, aortic stenosis, peripheral artery disease, cardiogenic shock, and cardiac arrest were identified from the 2014 to 2016 North Carolina Central Cancer Registry (NC CCR) data linked with hospital discharge data. Incidence-adjusted yearly rates were estimated with Poisson regression, using NC CCR incidence data. Results Overall, 7,720 CV hospitalizations in patients with cancer were identified. The most common CV causes of admission were HF (2,352, 30%), stroke (1,587, 21%), and atrial fibrillation (1,234, 16%). Lung (1,932, 25%), female breast (824, 11%), and hematologic (799, 10%) cancers accounted for the largest number of CV hospitalizations. Yearly rate of CV admissions was highest for lung cancer (80 per 1000 incident cases) followed by bladder (72 per 1000) and kidney cancers (62 per 1000). In-hospital mortality occurred in 299 (4%) of hospitalizations, most frequently in patients with other GI (37, 6%), musculoskeletal (2, 5%), and lung (96, 5%) cancers. Conclusion CV admissions in patients with cancer are frequent, most often due to HF, stroke, and arrhythmia. Lung, urinary, and breast cancers have the highest incidence-adjusted rates of CV admissions in North Carolina. [Formula presented]