Heart disease has long been the top killer of women in the United States, but new research suggests uterine fibroids, which many may not even be aware they have, could be putting them at a significantly greater risk.

A large, 10-year study found that women with leiomyomas had an 81% higher long-term risk of heart disease than those without the common condition. Women with fibroids — generally benign tumors that can form on or in the uterus — also had higher individual risks of cerebrovascular, coronary artery and peripheral artery diseases a decade after diagnosis.

The study involved more than 2.7 million U.S. women and was led by scientists at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. It was published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Heart Association .

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