A common hormonal disorder in women could be linked to heart disease, a pilot study in Australia has revealed. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a hormonal disorder affecting about 10% of women of reproductive age and is a leading cause of infertility. Further research is needed but the preliminary study, using only a small sample of women, showed that young women (average age of 31 years) with PCOS had significant abnormalities in blood clotting and blood vessel function. Both are important risk factors in heart disease. The study also found evidence the abnormalities were not limited to overweight or obese women, a common and dangerous misconception. “We need women to understand that they could still have these heart disease risk factors regardless of their weight," says Dr Alicia Chan, Cardiologist at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and PhD student with the University of Adelaide's Robinson Institute. "The degree of blood clotting and blood vessel abnormalities seen in women with PCOS in this study was very striking, similar to what we would normally see in older patients with known heart disease," says Dr Chan. The Adelaide researchers are planning a larger study, following on from this 2010 pilot study, to confirm the results.