Prophylactic bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (BSO) increases the risk of heart disease, particularly in women with a family history of myocardial infarction at any early age, a study confirms.

And women’s excess risk of premature death is fourfold higher if they have a family history of heart disease and have their ovaries removed before the age of 45.

The US study of more than 2700 post-menopausal women, followed up for 22 years on average, identified 610 women who’d had both ovaries removed, 338 women with a family history of premature myocardial infarction, and 95 women with both.

During follow-up, 395 deaths were attributed to heart disease and 542 to cardiovascular disease.