Childless heart risk

WOMEN who never have children are at far greater risk of suffering from heart failure, a major study suggests.

Experts found that women who remained childless were 70 per cent more likely to suffer from heart failure in old age, compared with women who had given birth to one child.

Women who start the menopause early are also thought to be at risk because their oestrogen production halts. This suggests sex hormones linked to pregnancy and menstruation play a major role in protecting the heart.