Women who have endometriosis face a higher risk of serious heart problems such as heart attack or stroke.
- The study shows that women with endometriosis have an approximately 20% higher risk of acute myocardial infarction or stroke compared to others.
- Researchers say women-specific risk factors, such as endometriosis, should be included in cardiovascular risk prediction models.
- One in three women dies from cardiovascular disease and one in 10 suffers from endometriosis.
In addition to severe and recurring pain, chronic fatigue and fertility problems, women with endometriosis face another challenge. They have a 20% higher risk of developing heart problems, according to researchers at Rigshospitalet University Hospital in Copenhagen.
Their work will be presented at the Annual Congress of the European Society of Cardiology which takes place this year in London from August 30 to September 2.
Stroke, heart attack: increased risk for patients suffering from endometriosis
To determine the impact of endometriosis on women’s heart health, the team looked at Danish national registries of all women diagnosed with endometriosis between 1977 and 2021. They then followed 60,508 patients with the gynaecological disease and 242,032 women without the condition for a median of 16 years.
Analyses of the data collected showed that women with endometriosis had an approximately 20% increased risk of acute myocardial infarction and ischemic stroke compared to others. The authors state in their press release : “When these data were broken down into individual components, women with endometriosis had an approximately 20% increased risk of ischemic stroke and an approximately 35% increased risk of acute myocardial infarction compared with women without endometriosis. In addition, women with endometriosis also had an increased risk of arrhythmia and heart failure compared with women without endometriosis.”
Cardiovascular diseases: women’s specific risks must be taken into account
“For decades, cardiovascular disease (CVD) has been considered a male condition and risk factors have been considered from a male perspective, for example by including erectile dysfunction in CVD risk assessment guidelines. Yet, 1 in 3 women die from CVD and 1 in 10 women have endometriosis. Our findings suggest that it may be time to systematically consider CVD risk in women with endometriosis.”said the study’s lead author, Dr. Eva Havers-Borgersen of Rigshospitalet University Hospital in Copenhagen, in the statement.
While the scientist and her team acknowledge that further research is needed to confirm their findings, they recommend conducting a cardiovascular risk assessment for patients affected by endometriosis.
“It is now time that women-specific risk factors – such as endometriosis, but also gestational diabetes and preeclampsia – are taken into account in cardiovascular risk prediction models.”concludes the expert.
