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(Health Rounds is published Tuesdays and Thursdays. Think your friend or colleague should know about us? Forward this newsletter to them. They can also subscribe here .) by Nancy Lapid
Hello Health Rounds readers! The need for more research into women’s health issues is a recurring theme in Health Rounds. Today, we report findings that link endometriosis, a common condition, to increased risk for a range of serious heart problems. On a more positive note, we also present a study that found that AbbVie’s Ubrelvy not only treats migraine pain as intended, but can also prevent its onset, improving quality of life.
Endometriosis linked to heart attacks and strokes
A common disease affecting the tissue that lines the uterus is linked to higher risks of heart attacks and strokes, according to a new data analysis.
Danish researchers compared 60,508 women diagnosed with endometriosis between 1977 and 2021 with 242,032 women of the same age who did not suffer from the painful condition, in which endometrial tissue grows outside the uterus.
During follow-up for up to 45 years, 17.5% of women with endometriosis had a heart attack or stroke due to a blocked artery, compared with 15.3% of women without endometriosis.
After taking into account other individual risk factors, women with endometriosis had about a 20% increased risk of heart attack or stroke, the researchers plan to report at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) meeting in London.
When the rates of these events were analyzed separately, women with endometriosis had an approximately 20% higher risk of stroke and an approximately 35% higher risk of myocardial infarction.
Women with endometriosis also had a higher risk of heart rhythm disturbances and heart failure.
The study does not prove that endometriosis causes these additional health problems.
Still, the findings add evidence that women-specific risk factors, such as endometriosis, gestational diabetes and pre-eclampsia, should be incorporated into cardiovascular risk prediction models, study leader Dr. Eva Havers-Borgersen of Rigshospitalet University Hospital in Copenhagen said in a statement.
In the meantime, “we suggest that women with endometriosis be assessed for cardiovascular disease risk,” Havers-Borgersen said.
Migraine pill prevents pain and improves quality of life
AbbVie ABBV.N’s Ubrelvy, which is used to relieve migraine pain, may also prevent migraine pain from occurring, helping patients go about their daily lives with few or no symptoms and improving their quality of life, researchers have found.
Ubrelvy has been marketed in the United States for the treatment of migraines since 2019. Its active ingredient, ubrogepant, was the first in a class of drugs that block the action of proteins involved in migraines, called calcitonin gene-related peptide receptors, or CGRP.
A study published Wednesday in Neurology looked at 518 people who suffered from frequent migraines and were able to recognize an impending attack based on early “prodromal” symptoms such as sensitivity to light and sound, fatigue, neck pain or stiffness, and dizziness.
Two potential migraine attacks were treated at the onset of prodromal symptoms, one with AbbVie’s drug and the other with a placebo.
Twenty-four hours later, 65% of those taking ubrogepant reported feeling “not at all limited – I could do anything” or “a little limited,” compared with 48% of those taking the placebo.
Two hours after taking the drug, people who took it were 73% more likely to report “no disability, able to function normally” than those who took the placebo.
“Improving care at the earliest signs of migraine, even before headaches begin, may be key to improving outcomes,” study leader Dr. Richard Lipton of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, New York, said in a statement.
“Our results are encouraging and suggest that ubrogepant may help people with migraine function normally and go about their daily lives.
