a-woman-with-period-painsA new study published in the journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes suggests that young women with endometriosis might be at increased risk for heart disease. Medicine News Today recently interviewed the leader of the study, Fan Mu, who was a research assistant at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA, at the time of study.

The researchers found that women with endometriosis were 1.91 times more likely to develop chest pain, or angina, 1.52 times more likely to have a heart attack and 1.35 times more likely to require surgery or stenting to open blocked arteries, compared with women free of endometriosis.

Furthermore, women under the age of 40 who had endometriosis were found to be at three times greater risk for all three conditions, compared with women of the same age group who did not have endometriosis.

The team admitted that many of the surgical treatments for endometriosis may also contribute to the increased risk factors. But they also stressed that women of all ages with this diagnosis should be aware of the risks and begin, even at a young age, to develop heart-healthy lifestyles including regular doctor appointments and education about the disease and its symptoms.