Exercise Can Help Childhood Hodgkin's Survivors Avoid Heart Problems

Researchers found that the incidence of cardiovascular events was higher among Hodgkin's survivors who do not exercise compared with those that do.

Using questionnaires to evaluate exercise behavior and occurrence of cardiovascular events in 1,187 adult survivors of Hodgkin's lymphoma, Lee W. Jones, Ph.D., of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and colleagues found that over a median follow-up time of 11.9 years, the cumulative incidence of any cardiovascular event at ten years was higher among cancer survivors reporting zero metabolic equivalent (MET) hours/week−1 of vigorous-intensity exercise (12.2 percent) than those reporting ≥ 9 MET hours/week−1 (5.2 percent).

Compared with cancer survivors who did not meet the guidelines for ≥ 9 MET hours/week−1 of vigorous-intensity exercise, those who met the guidelines had a 51 percent reduction in the risk of any cardiovascular event.

"Vigorous exercise was associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular events in a dose-dependent manner independent of cardiovascular risk profile and treatment in survivors of Hodgkin lymphoma," the authors concluded.

The team reported its findings in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Source: Medicalxpress