Bold claim: Uterine fibroids may not only affect reproductive health but could also meaningfully raise your risk of heart disease. If you’re a woman in your childbearing years or beyond, this is an issue worth understanding, because the connection might be more important than many people realize. And this is the part most people miss: fibroids could be an early signal of broader cardiovascular risk that doctors haven’t fully factored into risk assessments yet.
A new study examined health data from 2000 to 2022, tracking more than 450,000 women diagnosed with uterine fibroids and comparing them with about 2.25 million women without fibroids. All participants had an average age around 41, and researchers followed them for ten years to observe heart disease outcomes. The results were striking:
- Overall, women with fibroids had an roughly 80% higher risk of developing heart disease than those without fibroids, meaning their risk was nearly twice as high.
- Among women under 40, the increase was even more pronounced: about 250% higher risk, translating to more than three times the likelihood of heart disease.
- Those with fibroids showed a greater likelihood of three major cardiovascular conditions: coronary artery disease, cerebrovascular disease, and peripheral artery disease.
- The elevated risk was observed across all racial and ethnic groups studied.
Lead author Julia DiTosto, a PhD candidate in epidemiology at the University of Pennsylvania, emphasizes that this area has been historically understudied. She argues that recognizing fibroids as a potential female-specific cardiovascular risk factor could drive important research and improve long-term prevention strategies.
What exactly links fibroids to heart disease remains unclear, but the researchers propose several shared biological pathways could be at play. These include uncontrolled growth of smooth muscle cells, fibrosis (scar-tissue buildup), calcification of arteries, and inflammatory responses. While these hypotheses are compelling, they are not yet proven, and the study’s observational design means it cannot establish causation.
A key limitation the team notes is the absence of detailed fibroid characteristics in the data, such as the size, number, and precise location of fibroids. Future research that captures these details could shed more light on who is at greatest risk and why.
So, should you worry about heart health if you have fibroids? Given that heart disease remains a leading cause of death for women, these findings suggest that clinicians should consider fibroid history when evaluating cardiovascular risk. Annual well-woman visits provide a practical opportunity to discuss fibroid-related considerations and how they might intersect with heart health.
Experts caution that fibroids are extremely common—affecting a large portion of women by midlife—so the results could influence how we refine cardiovascular risk prediction for women. Susanna Mitro, PhD, notes that while this study adds to a growing body of evidence linking fibroids to cardiovascular outcomes, more research is needed to confirm causality and to uncover the underlying mechanisms. The goal is to better protect heart health through informed screening and personalized care.
What do you think about this potential link between fibroids and heart health? Should doctors routinely assess fibroid history when evaluating cardiovascular risk, or do you prefer to wait for more definitive evidence? Share your views in the comments.
