Wait a minute..increased risk of heart disease?

I just read an article saying that women who have NOT yet went through menopause and had a hysterectomy (I'm 32, nowhere near menopause) were 1/3 more likely to have cardiac problems. I'm not saying this would have stopped me (the pain I was in, I'm not sure anything would have), but nobody told me this. Why would having a TAH increase heart disease??? Anybody else know anything about this? That just ticks me off!!! Everything else I gotta watch out for and now I gotta worry about heart disease too? sheeesh. Okay, shut up and stop complaining. TAH was great for me, good decision, but still, anyone else know anything about this?
Chrys

No I had not heard of this either, but hey I had my hyst before starting menopause properly so guess I am on the list LOL. No honestly who really knows. We are told so much of what not to do and what to do etc... Fate will be the deciding factor in my book so if I am meant to get anything in this life, that includes illness heart diease etc, then guess I will. It is kind of like saying do not go out today or you will be hit by a bus. I am glad to have my hyst behind me and given that bit of information about heart disease, i still would have gone ahead as I was not planning to go through what I was pre for the rest of my life. I already have heart disease in my family so it would have not made the chances any different. Hugs Vicki

I have not heard of anything along these lines either. I wonder if they are referring to being on HRT at a younger age I too am on the list, since I had my hyst before starting menopause.

I guess it just means that it is one more reason to explore other options before having a hyst. As Vicky mentions, it all depends on what led to the surgery and weighing in being in poor health v/s added risks to your health in other areas.

I guess all we can do now is make sure to have as healthy a life style as possible and to put all the odds in our favor. No use fretting about it.

Could you tell us where you read it, or provide a link?

Absolutely! I should have given that right off instead of just sounding off. LOL
I copied this part
The incidence of cardiovascular disease increases three-fold in premenopausal women undergoing hysterectomy.
from
www.drfibroid.com/ fibroids.htm

Actually, I went to Google search engine, typed in hysterectomy and started looking at the pictures, hoping I'd find a before and after picture. LOL, I know it's weird, but I wanna see the difference. Never did find one but I found a pic showing the uterus and cervix out (it's OBVIOUSLY real and post surgery, like, immediately post surgery). I went down about two rows (I'm looking through the results on the images tab, not the websites tab) and found just a basic...drawing, I guess, though well done of the reproductive parts. This is where I found the info on fibroids and the info pasted above.

Chrys

Chrys (and others),

I read the page you are referring to, and they don't provide any details on how cardiovascular study was conducted. Please note that there are some inaccuracies in the same paragraph (such as general anesthesia is REQUIRED for hysterectomy.). Also , they criticize hysterectomy for prohibiting fertility, but UAE has compromised fertility in some women too (they fail to mention this). I think this group is obviously biased against hysterectomy since they are set up as a business to perform UAE. (radiologists, not gyns do this surgery) So, they may be quoting out of context on the cardiovascular study (maybe all the women in the study where not that healthy to begin with and the study is flawed, but we'll never know from their soundbite).

My advice to all of you is to ignore what they say and eat and exercise properly; don't smoke, see your doctor for regular checkups to keep your blood pressure and cholesterol under control.

According to everything I have read, this is INDEED the problem, along with osteoperosis, skin aging,(that really bugs me) hot flashes etc. This is why taking HRT is a good idea. I too was premenopause and had TAH/BSO and endometrioma tumor size of grapefruit removed.
I am on a very light dose of estrogen. I think it is worth the risks of returning endometriosis. I understand that taking the HRT
lessens the chances of these maladies.

I have a good book,"HYSTERECTOMY:BEFORE AND AFTER"that will help you. Amazon will have it. There are so many types of HRT
that it would be wise to read this book.

First, we are talking about hysterectomy only, not ovary removal, so HRT is not at all relevant in the cardiovascular study.

You should read the latest research on HRT. It is now widely believed that HRT probably does NOT protect you against heart disease, osteoporosis , or mental decline. In fact, HRT may do more harm than good, and has been implicated in an increase risk for asthma, as well as breast cancer. More doctors are taking the view that if you are at risk for osteoporosis or heart disease you should take drugs specifically designed for those conditions, as well as practice good health habits. Most doctors are now recommending that women take HRT for a limited time only for hot flashes and night sweats.

Since my first post on this subject, I found out that there is indeed a hightened risk of heart disease after a hysterectomy. Here's what the doctor told a fellow hostess:

	Quote:
The uterus contols the blood clotting hormone. Thus...no uterus, the clotting mechanisims can get fouled up. Most heart disease attributed to hysterectomy patients are related to this problem...thickening of the blood.

Whatever the risks of taking or not taking HRT are, I still believe that it is important to research our options and to listen to our doctor. Personally, considering all the issues involved with HRT v/s no-HRT and the problems some 's are having adjusting to HRT, I'm just very happy that, in the end, I kept my ovaries.

Heart disease by far and away the number one cause of death of women, whether you've had a hysterectomy or not. So, then, if this doctor believes that the lack of a uterus is causing heart disease in women, then how does he explain that heart disease has exploded as a cause of death in the last couple of decades while the rate of hysterectomy as stayed the same????

Also, he apparently believes that heart disease in men has a different cause than in women?