Women with Endometriosis face 20% greater Risk of Heart Attacks and Strokes: ESC Congress 2024 - Video

Women with endometriosis have a 20% greater risk of significant cardiac outcomes compared with women without endometriosis, the results of a recent Danish study has pointed out.

The study results presented at the ESC Congress 2024 have heightened concerns for women with endometriosis. Endometriosis, a chronic systemic gynaecological condition affecting 10% of women of reproductive age, exhibits pathophysiological traits similar to those of cardiovascular disease.

The study used Danish nationwide registries of all women with a diagnosis of endometriosis between 1977 and 2021. They were matched with women from the background population without endometriosis in a 1:4 ratio based on year of birth. The primary outcome was a composite of acute myocardial infarction and ischaemic stroke. The secondary outcomes were the individual components of the primary outcome, as well as arrhythmias, heart failure and mortality.

There were 60,508 women with endometriosis and 242,032 matched controls included in the analysis (median age, 37.3 years) who were followed for a median of 16 years and a maximum of 45 years.

At the end of the study, it was found that Women with endometriosis had around a 20% increased risk of the composite endpoint of acute myocardial infarction and ischaemic stroke compared with those without endometriosis.

Scientists concluded that the high prevalence of endometriosis highlights the significance of these findings and stresses the need for a deeper understanding and better prevention of its long-term cardiovascular effects.

Reference: The abstract “Endometriosis, a prevalent disease, is associated with significant cardiac disease” will be presented at the session ‘Cardiovascular disease in women (5)’, which takes place on 2 September 2024, Station 6 in the Research Gateway.