Women with Endometriosis at Higher Risk for Heart Disease

Women with endometriosis—especially those 40 or younger—may have a higher risk of heart disease, according to new research published in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, an American Heart Association journal.

The study may be the first prospective investigation to examine the link between coronary heart disease and endometriosis—the growth of the tissue that lines the uterus (the endometrium)—outside the uterus. Researchers reviewed the records of 116,430 women enrolled in the Nurses’ Health Study II. Endometriosis was diagnosed using surgical examinations in 11,903 women by end of follow-up.

During 20 years of follow-up, researchers found that compared to women without endometriosis, women with the condition were:

• 1.35 times more likely to need surgery or stenting to open blocked arteries;
• 1.52 times more likely to have a heart attack; and
• 1.91 times more likely to develop angina (chest pain).

Moreover, women age 40 or younger with endometriosis were three times as likely to develop heart attack, chest pain or need treatment for blocked arteries, compared to women without endometriosis in the same age group…Read More>>

Source: American Heart Association via Medical Xpress