Gynecologic procedures may be associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease

A new study showed that hysterectomy alone, hysterectomy with oophorectomy, and tubal ligation were all associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The findings and their implications are published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Women's Health.

Stacey Missmer, ScD, from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and coauthors, examined the association between no surgery, hysterectomy alone, hysterectomy with oophorectomy, or tubal ligation and risk of CVD among participants in the Nurses Health Study II. CVD was based on confirmed fatal and non-fatal myocardial infarction, fatal coronary heart disease, or fatal and non-fatal stroke.

The investigators reported that the association between hysterectomy/oophorectomy and CVD risk varied by age at gynecologic surgery, with the strongest association among women who had surgery before age 50.

Physicians caring for women who have had gynecologic surgery, especially if it was performed before age 50, should be aware of the women's higher risk for cardiovascular disease and take appropriate preventive measures."

Susan G. Kornstein, MD, Journal of Women's Health Editor-in-Chief, Executive Director of the Virginia Commonwealth University Institute for Women's Health, Richmond, VA.