[caption id="attachment_1637" align="alignright" width="150"]<a href="http://www.hormonesoup.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Patched-Heart-Dreamstime.jpg"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-1637" alt="Image: Dreamstime" src="http://www.hormonesoup.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Patched-Heart-Dreamstime-150x123.jpg" width="150" height="123" /></a> Image: Dreamstime[/caption]

Losing two babies when I was in my first trimester of my pregnancies was heart breaking.  The ache in my heart was particularly painful at the time but I was surprised to learn that miscarriages put you at risk for more than just a broken heart - you actually have <strong>a greater risk of cardiovascular disease later in life. </strong>

In fact, your risk goes up with each miscarriage you have.  A <a title="Miscarriage &amp; Heart Disease" href="http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.3109/00016340903380758" target="_blank">Finnish study</a> of 3,937 women from age 30 - 99 found that the risk for heart disease later in life went up significantly with each miscarriage.  Unfortunately no causative factor was mentioned.

Conversely if your parents have had heart problems you could have an increased risk of miscarriage.if you've suffered recurrent miscarriages <strong>your parents are at an increased risk of coronary heart disease.</strong>  A <a title="Heart Disease - Recurrent Miscarriage " href=" http://www.rcog.org.uk/news/bjog-release-recurring-miscarriage-linked-family-history-ischaemic-heart-disease" target="_blank">Scottish study</a> of almost 75,000 people from 1992 - 2006 showed a 25% increase in risk among parents of women with two previous miscarriages.  Three or more miscarriages put a women's parents at a 56% increase in risk for coronary heart disease.

The Scottish researchers investigated a number of possible causative factors but found no direct cause-effect relationship.  Instead they are suggesting that there may be similar genetic predispositions at play.

So researchers are talking about some sort of genetic pre-disposition.  Here's something that's on my mind but wasn't investigated in either study - thyroid disorders!
<p style="text-align: left;">Thyroid Disorders:</p>

<ul>
	<li style="text-align: left;">carry an increased risk of miscarriage</li>
	<li style="text-align: left;">an increased risk of heart disease</li>
	<li style="text-align: left;">thyroid disease can be hereditary</li>
</ul>
Whatever is at play - make sure you take extra-special care of your heart if you've had recurrent miscarriages and don't forget Grandma &amp; Grandpa's heart too.