Healthy Postmenopausal Women Receiving HRT Are Not at Risk for Early Coronary Events: Results from 2 Large Clinical Trials

Abstract

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the most common and deadly disease among women, accounting for approximately 500,000 deaths annually, nearly twice the number of deaths from cancer [1]. The prevalence of CVD in women increases dramatically after menopause [1,2], when endogenous estradiol production by the ovaries significantly decreases. The concurrent increase in CVD risk and decrease in endogenous estrogens have led to the suggestion that exogenous estrogen can reduce the risk of CVD in postmenopausal women. Indeed, multiple studies have suggested that estrogen replacement therapy (ERT, unopposed estrogens) or hormone replacement therapy (HRT, estrogens in combination with a progestin) may reduce the risk of CVD in women [3 – 8]. Observational data from the large Nurses’ Health Study of more than 70,000 healthy postmenopausal women indicate that HRT decreases the risk of cardiovascular events in women by as much as 40% [6]. In addition, a large randomized 3-year clinical trial with 875 healthy postmenopausal women showed significant improvement in cardiovascular parameters with HRT use [4].KeywordsPostmenopausal WomanHormone Replacement TherapyEstrogen Replacement TherapyMedroxyprogesterone AcetateConjugate Equine EstrogenThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.