Hysterectomy raises heart risks

WOMEN who undergo a hysterectomy before 35 may face significantly higher long-term heart risks, even if their ovaries are preserved, a study revealed yesterday.

Research by experts at the Mayo Clinic focused on more than 2 000 US women who had their uterus removed but left their ovaries intact – widely considered the most desirable option if possible, because it prevents a woman from entering early menopause.

Compared with women in the same area of Minnesota who did not have hysterectomies, the study found those who did faced a greater risk of obesity, clogged arteries, high blood pressure and high cholesterol in the 20-plus years after surgery.

The elevated risks ranged from 13% more for high blood pressure to 33% more for coronary artery disease. For women under 35, the risks were particularly acute – a 4.6-fold increased risk of congestive heart failure and a 2.5-fold greater risk of coronary artery disease, when the arteries become hard and narrow.

“This is the best data to date that shows women undergoing hysterectomy have a risk of long-term disease – even when both ovaries are conserved,” lead author Shannon Laughlin-Tommaso, an obstetrician-gynaecologist at the Mayo Clinic, said.

“Hysterectomy is the second most common gynaecologic surgery, because most physicians believe that this surgery has minimal long-term risks,” she said.

A total of 400 000 operations to remove the uterus, or womb, are performed annually in the US. –