Failed IVF treatment raises risk of heart disease and strokes

Women who do not conceive after IVF are at greater risk of developing heart disease than those who get pregnant with it, research reveals today.

The would-be mums are also more likely to have a stroke in later life, scientists ­discovered.

They arrived at the findings after studying 28,442 women, average age 35, who had fertility therapy between 1993 and 2011. A third fell pregnant.

They followed the group until 2015 and found those for whom IVF failed were 19 per cent more likely to suffer cardiovascular problems, notably heart failure.

The risk was about 100 to one, compared to 166 to one for those who had a baby.

Study author Doctor Jacob Udel said fertility therapy could be an early indication of future cardiovascular disease because it represented “a unique cardiometabolic stress test”.

He claimed there is a lack of data on the long-term health impacts of fertility therapy, especially in women who don’t conceive.

However, the researchers suggested the results should be interpreted with caution.

Study co-author Doctor Donald Redelmeier added: "We don't want to alarm women who undergo fertility therapy; we are instead suggesting that as women age, they should stay mindful of their health and remind their physician about any fertility therapy years earlier.

"It can be an opportunity for their doctor to review other risk factors for heart disease and discuss ways to protect against future cardiac problems."

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