The Link Between Endometriosis, Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease, and the Health of Women Midlife

Publication date: Available online 25 April 2019Source: Journal of Minimally Invasive GynecologyAuthor(s): Omur Taskin, Kiran Rikhraj, Justin Tan, Tara Sedlak, Timothy C. Rowe, Mohamed A. BedaiwyAbstractEndometriosis and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) are both essentially diseases of inflammation. It is well established that inflammation is the leading mechanism in the initiation and maintenance of vascular injury and in the development and progression of atherosclerosis. Thus, if women with endometriosis do indeed have increased general inflammation, they are at increased risk of developing microvascular dysfunction and atherosclerosis. Currently available evidence suggests that young female patients with proven endometriosis may be at a higher lifetime risk of developing cardiovascular disease; this may be unrecognized owing to the relatively young age of women found to have endometriosis. Other mechanisms proposed to explain the link between endometriosis and ASCVD include similarities in the genetic underpinnings of each condition including microRNA dysfunction and the association between endometriosis and early menopause, a risk for developing ASCVD. While physicians today primarily focus on traditional risk factors when evaluating an individual female patient's risk of developing ASCVD, we believe that a history of endometriosis should be included as a possible risk factor and needs further exploration. A better understanding of the mechanisms linking en...
Source: Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology - Category: OBGYN Source Type: research