Women With Hysterectomies Prone to Heart Disease?
Reported March 22, 2005
(Ivanhoe Newswire)
— Women who have had hysterectomies are at increased risk for cardiovascular diseases and more likely to suffer a heart attack or stroke than women who haven’t had their uterus removed, according to a new study.
Lead study author Barbara V. Howard, Ph.D., president of the MedStar Research Institute in Hyattsville, Md., and colleagues analyzed 89,914 women in the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) Observational Study.
Results show women with hysterectomies (regardless of whether they had their ovaries removed as well) have more cardiovascular disease risk factors, such as diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, and obesity, than women who still have their uterus.
However, researchers believe that while hysterectomies themselves may have a small influence on cardiovascular risk, it appears more likely that women who get hysterectomies already have more CVD risk factors.
The study also shows lower income women had higher rates of hysterectomy as did black Hispanic and American Indian women. Higher-income women, white and Pacific Islander women had the lowest rates.
Authors conclude, “Women with a hysterectomy had a worse risk profile and higher prevalence and incidence of CVD in this cohort. [Our study suggests] that hysterectomy is not the major determinant of this outcome; rather CVD risk may be due to the more adverse initial risk profile of women who had undergone hysterectomy.”
SOURCE: Circulation, published online March 21, 2005