Diastolic dysfunction and risks of heart failure and death in long-term adult cancer survivors.

Background: Cancer survivors face elevated risks of heart failure (HF) and death, with cardiac dysfunction being a significant concern. Current evaluations often emphasize systolic function while insufficiently addressing diastolic function. This study aims to investigate the prevalence of diastolic dysfunction and assess its prognostic implications in long-term cancer survivors.

Methods: We analyzed participants from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study with complete echocardiographic assessments and documented cancer histories. Diastolic function was classified by guideline criteria: normal (≤ 1 abnormal parameter), indeterminate (2 abnormal parameters), and dysfunction (≥ 3 abnormal parameters). The primary outcomes were incident HF and all-cause death. Diastolic dysfunction prevalence was compared between cancer survivors and non-cancer participants after propensity score matching. Cox regression, Kaplan-Meier, and restricted cubic spline (RCS) analyses were used to assess associated risks.

Results: A total of 5322 participants were included, with 18.4% (N = 979) being cancer survivors. The mean age of cancer survivors at echocardiography was 76.3 (5.10) years, with a median of 12.17 years since diagnosis. There were no significant differences in diastolic dysfunction prevalence (12.26% vs 10.73%, P = 0.29) after matching. Cox regression revealed a graded association between diastolic dysfunction and risks of HF and death. Fully adjusted hazard ratios were 2.59 (95% CI: 1.59-4.20, P < 0.001) for indeterminate diastolic function and 4.41 (95% CI: 2.40-8.12, P < 0.001) for diastolic dysfunction in HF; and 1.68 (95% CI: 1.26-2.25, P < 0.001) for indeterminate and 2.21 (95% CI: 1.51-3.22, P < 0.001) for diastolic dysfunction in all-cause death. These results were consistent across subgroup and sensitivity analyses and supported by Kaplan-Meier curves. RCS analyses demonstrated dose-response relationships between individual diastolic parameters and outcomes.

Conclusions: Diastolic dysfunction is prevalent among long-term cancer survivors and is stepwise associated with adverse outcomes. These findings underscore the essential need for ongoing monitoring of diastolic function in this population.