• Posted September 2, 2024

Endometriosis Linked to Higher Heart Risks for Women

Endometriosis can be a painful, debilitating condition for many women, but new research suggests even more serious consequences: higher odds for heart attacks or strokes.

Endometriosis occurs when uterine tissue that normally grows on the inside of the organ grows outside of it instead. Cysts, scar tissue and other conditions can infiltrate nearby organs, resulting in pain and troubles with fertility, according to the Mayo Clinic.

The new Danish study was led by  Dr. Eva Havers-Borgersen, from Rigshospitalet Copenhagen University Hospital, in Copenhagen. Her team presented its findings Thursday in London at the annual meeting of the European Society of Cardiology.

"One in three women die from cardiovascular disease and one in 10 women suffer from endometriosis," she said in a meeting news release. "Our results suggest that it may be time to routinely consider the risk of cardiovascular disease in women with endometriosis."

The study looked at information from a Danish database that identified endometriosis cases among over 60,000 women from 1977 through 2021.

The team then compared rates of heart attack and stroke for those women to rates among more than 242,000 women without endometriosis, matched for age. The women's health was followed for an average of 16 years.

Women with endometriosis had a 35% higher odds for heart attack and a 20% higher risk for an ischemic (caused by a clot) stroke, compared to women without the condition, the study found.

Endometriosis also appeared to raise the odds for a heart arrhythmia by 21% and heart failure by 11%, the Danish team found.

"These results provide more evidence that female-specific risk factors and cardiovascular disease in women need greater attention," Havers-Borgersen said. "We suggest that women with endometriosis undergo cardiovascular disease risk assessment, and it is now time for female-specific risk factors -- such as endometriosis, but also gestational diabetes and preeclampsia -- to be considered in cardiovascular risk prediction models."

Because these findings were presented at a medical meeting, they should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

More information

Find out more about endometriosis at Johns Hopkins Medicine.

SOURCE: European Society of Cardiology, news release, Aug. 29, 2024