PCOS and Cardiovascular Disease

A new consensus statement on the risks of heart attack and stroke for women with PCOS, in the online version of Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Infertility.

Assessment of Cardiovascular Risk and Prevention of
Cardiovascular Disease in Women with the Polycystic
Ovary Syndrome: A Consensus Statement by the
Androgen Excess and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome
(AE-PCOS) Society

By Robert Wild et al.,

This team of investigators lead by Robert Wild examined the evidence from the scientific literature regarding PCOS and CVD. Their conclusions were that women with PCOS and obesity, cigarette smoking, dyslipidemia, hyptertension, impaired glucose tolerance were at risk, whereas those with metabolic syndrome and/or type II diabetes were at high risk.

The implications of this consensus statement are clear. Doctors treating PCOS women will need to carefully assess whether these risk factors exist in their PCOS patients. The risk for CVD may be present at a much younger age than other women without PCOS and these risk factors. Interventions including the use of insulin sensitizers, smoking cessation, anti-hypertensives, anti-obesity drugs, and statins will need to be considered along with diet and excercise modifications. For some bariatric surgery for weight loss may also be considered if other strategies fail.

For more information about PCOS go to: http://www.androgenexcesssociety.org/bulletins.html