11/12/2025
Study author Julia D. DiTosto is a PhD candidate in epidemiology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
The researcher said: “Nearly 26 million pre-menopausal women in the US are impacted by uterine fibroids and many do not experience any symptoms.
“Yet despite the high prevalence, fibroids are understudied and poorly understood.”
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania studied more than 2.7m US women over a decade, comparing approximately 450,000 women with fibroids to nearly 2.25m without.
After 10 years of follow-up, more than 5.4 per cent of women with fibroids had experienced a cardiovascular event (such as a heart attack or stroke) compared to 3 per cent of women without fibroids.
The elevated heart disease risk persisted across all races and ages but was particularly strong in women younger than 40, where the risk for cardiovascular disease was 251 per cent higher in those with fibroids.
DiTosto said: “The strength of the relationship between heart disease risk and uterine fibroids was striking.
“However, it’s important to note that more research is needed to confirm these findings in other populations before formal changes are made to cardiovascular risk assessment guidelines.
“In the meantime, these results support having thoughtful conversations between women and their providers about heart health in the context of a fibroid diagnosis.”
As many as 20 per cent, and possibly up to 80 per cent, of women will develop fibroids by the time they reach age 50.
