Cardiovascular Health Metrics Differ Between Individuals With and Without Cancer

Background Although individuals with cancer experience high rates of cardiovascular morbidity, there are limited data on the potential differences in cardiovascular health (CVH) metrics between individuals with and without cancer. Methods and Results The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2015 and 2020 was queried to evaluate the prevalence of health metrics that comprise the American Heart Association Life's Essential 8 construct of cardiovascular health among adult individuals with and without cancer in the United States. Health metric scores were also evaluated according to important patient demographics including age, sex, race and ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Among 4370 participants representing >180 million US adults, 9.4% had a history of cancer. Individuals with cancer had lower overall cardiovascular health scores (67.1 versus 69.1, P