London - Women who have four or more children are more likely to show early signs of heart disease, scientists warn.
These mothers run up to double the odds of having the narrow, furred-up arteries that can trigger heart attacks, strokes and other potentially fatal conditions, they said.
Although heart attacks are generally thought of as a male problem, almost 40 percent of the 82 000 that occur in England each year are in women.
University of Texas researchers studied the scans of more than 1 600 women to see if their arteries were starting to become thick and clogged – an early sign of heart disease.
They then compared the results with the number of children the women had. Those who had four or more were roughly twice as likely to have arteries that were starting to narrow as those who had two or three children.
Importantly, this was still the case after taking into account other factors that affect heart health.
It is unclear why having a big family may damage the arteries. But Dr Monika Sanghavi said pregnancy sparks changes that can put more strain on the heart. For example, the amount of blood pumped through the heart goes up by half and cholesterol rises.
She told an American College of Cardiology conference: “Pregnancy has been called ‘nature’s stress test’ and for good reason.”
Doctors could use the information to help pick out women at risk, she said.
They could then change their lifestyle or take drugs such as blood pressure pills to try to stop their heart health from worsening. As women have children when still fairly young, such an approach would allow potential problems to be picked up early on.
Oddly, those who had never had children and mothers of one also had a higher odds of unhealthy arteries than those who had two or three babies. It may be that a health condition that makes it more difficult for them to conceive also makes them prone.
Whatever the reasons, Dr Sanghavi says her study does not mean women should have just two or three children. - Daily Mail