New tool identifies heart disease risk in women earlier in life

Researchers in the US have developed a new tool designed to identify women at risk of heart disease much earlier than existing methods allow.

The findings, published in the journal JACC: Advances, highlight significant gaps in the risk assessment approaches currently used in clinical practice.

“Heart disease is the leading cause of death in women, yet existing risk tools were developed in older populations and ignore factors unique to women,” said senior author Robert Platt, professor in the Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health and director of the School of Population and Global Health.

He noted that while pregnancy complications are known to be linked to future heart risk, there has until now been no reliable way of identifying which younger women are most at risk.

To build the tool, researchers analysed health data from more than 260,000 women in the UK aged between 15 and 45 who had given birth.

The team developed and validated a prediction model to estimate future heart disease risk, following participants for nearly four years after delivery.

The model identified several factors not included in existing risk tools that can help predict a woman’s likelihood of developing heart disease.

These include hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, gestational diabetes, preterm birth, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), depression, thyroid disorders, oral contraceptive use and social deprivation.

The findings suggest that some women, particularly younger women often dismissed as low risk, may in fact face a higher risk of heart disease earlier than previously recognised.

“Millions of women who give birth each year are never considered candidates for cardiovascular risk assessment simply because of their age,” said co-author Kristian Filion, professor in the Departments of Medicine and of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health.

He added that if integrated into routine postpartum care, the tool could enable earlier monitoring, lifestyle counselling or referral to a specialist, potentially helping to prevent a heart attack or stroke later in life.

The research team’s next step is to validate the model using data from Canada and the United States.

In the longer term, they hope to integrate a practical calculator into electronic health records, allowing higher-risk patients to be identified and supported earlier.