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Most breast cancer survivors in study safely stopped heart medication after recovery

A UK-led trial found that most women whose heart function recovered after breast cancer treatment were able to stop long-term heart medication without their heart function worsening over the following year.

By THE TEA · 2 September 2026

University College Hospital in London, one of the organisations involved in the breast cancer and heart medication study. Image: Representative image: Steff / Wikimedia Commons, public domain. The image shows University College Hospital and does not depict study participants.Original source

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Many breast cancer survivors whose affected their heart function may not need to remain on heart medication for life once their heart has recovered, according to new UK-led .

The trial involved 90 women who had recovered from heart problems caused by a specific type of breast cancer treatment. Most were in their 40s and 50s and, under previous practice, would often have been advised to continue heart medication long-term because of concerns that their heart function might decline again.

at University College London Hospitals, UCL and Barts Health found that 98% of the women who stopped their heart medication had no in heart function after one year. Only one participant experienced a decline in the heart’s pumping ability.

The women who stopped medication also reported a slightly better quality of life at 12 months than those who continued taking it.

The was funded by the British Heart Foundation and supported by the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at UCLH. Its findings were presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in Munich and published in the European Heart Journal.

The result could eventually help some breast cancer survivors avoid years of unnecessary medication, although treatment decisions remain individual and should be made with a patient’s team. The research applies specifically to people whose heart function was affected by cancer treatment and recovered.