Is there a link between infertility and heart problems?

What's on this page:

• Is there a link between infertility and heart disease?
• What is infertility?
• Female infertility causes
• Can female infertility cause heart disease?
• Can heart disease cause female infertility?
• Fertility treatments and heart disease
• Male infertility causes
• Male infertility and heart disease
• How to improve reproductive health and heart health

Is there a link between infertility and heart disease?

There is some evidence of a link between female infertility and heart problems, and weaker evidence of a link between male infertility and heart problems.

What is infertility?

Infertility is defined as the inability to get pregnant despite having regular unprotected sex for a year or more. 

Chat to your GP if you have not conceived after a year of trying. They can check for common fertility problems and suggest treatments that could help.

Female infertility causes

Female infertility has many causes, including:

• premature ovarian insufficiency (POI)
• polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)
• endometriosis
• fibroids
• pelvic inflammatory disease
• differences in the way the womb or other parts of the reproductive system are shaped

Thyroid disorders, certain medicines and cancer treatments can also affect fertility. 

Can female infertility cause heart disease?

Many studies of women with infertility, as well as studies of some causes of infertility including POI, PCOS, and endometriosis, have found they have a greater risk of heart disease later in life.

There is no evidence that heart disease causes infertility in women

The studies have also found these women are more likely to have risk factors for heart disease such as excess weight or obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels and diabetes.

Can heart disease cause female infertility?

There is no evidence that heart disease causes infertility in women. Most women with congenital heart disease can have a successful pregnancy, although some may be advised against becoming pregnant because it puts an extra strain on the heart.

• Get more information on pregnancy when you have a heart condition

Fertility treatments and heart disease

We also don’t know for certain if fertility treatment can cause heart disease in the long term. We do know that women who get pregnant after fertility treatment have a higher risk of problems in pregnancy such as pre-eclampsia (which raises your risk of heart disease in later life). But it is still unclear if this is linked to the fertility treatment or the infertility.

Male infertility causes

Like female infertility, male infertility has many causes. A sperm count that is low or zero is a common cause of male infertility. Injury to a man’s testicles, infection and surgery can also cause infertility, as can carrying excess weight and cancer treatments.

Male infertility and heart disease

Less is known about infertility and heart disease in men. Multiple studies have found that men (and women) who do not have children are at an increased risk of heart disease in later life. But childlessness is not the same as infertility: not having children can happen for other reasons. Only two studies have looked at whether infertility is linked with heart disease in men. Both studies showed no or very weak links. The studies only looked at men who experienced infertility but who went on to have children.

How to improve reproductive health and heart health

To sum up, it is likely that some causes of infertility – both in men and in women – are a sign of poorer overall and heart health. So, making healthy life choices such as quitting smoking, reducing your alcohol intake, exercising, and losing weight can have a positive impact on both your reproductive health and your heart health. 

What to read next...