Evaluation of cardiovascular risk and metabolic syndrome in women with breast cancer using tamoxifen.

Introduction: Breast cancer is the second most common cancer in the world and the most common type among women. In addition, the cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death in women. Objective: The objective was to assess cardiovascular risk factors and metabolic syndrome in women with breast cancer using tamoxifen. Methods: Cross-sectional study conducted with women with a previous breast cancer diagnosis. For metabolic syndrome diagnosis, the criteria established by the American Heart Association (2009) were used. Cardiovascular risk was assessed using the Framingham Risk Score. Results: The frequency of metabolic syndrome is 75% (n=24) of the study participants. The cardiovascular risk assessment showed that 18.7% (n=6) and 21.9% (n=7) of the participants were at intermediate to high risk, respectively Conclusion: It is concluded that women undergoing breast cancer treatment have a high prevalence of metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular risk factors, increasing mortality from cardiovascular diseases in this group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]