Hormone Replacement Therapy Risk?
There is yet more evidence that women who take combined hormone replacement therapy are at higher risk for heart disease.
The Early Show Medical Correspondent Dr. Emily Senay says for many years it was believed that hormone replacement therapy, including a therapy combining estrogen and progestin, was a good way to protect a woman's heart from disease and to combat other effects of aging after menopause. But, those beliefs were never scientifically proven.
In the latest New England Journal of Medicine, two new studies implicate combined hormone therapy with an increased risk of disease.
Senay says the new research showed that estrogen plus progestin therapy in healthy women does not protect the heart and may increase the risk of heart disease, especially during the first year of hormone use. Additional, research showed that the therapy did not prevent the progression of heart disease in women who were already suffering.
The researchers conclude that this treatment should not be prescribed for the prevention or treatment of cardiovascular disease, and anyone taking it for that reason should stop.
Unfortunately, Senay says, data is building up on other serious drawbacks to combined hormone therapy. The research shows that along with an increased risk of heart disease, combined hormone therapy also increases the risk of stroke, breast cancer and dementia such as Alzheimer's disease.
Senay says the research should alert doctors and patients who might take the combined hormone therapy lightly.
In the past, hormone therapy was prescribed for osteoporosis and menopause symptoms such as hot flashes. Senay explains the conventional wisdom these days is that women who cannot find relief from menopause symptoms should only take combined hormones at the lowest dose possible and least duration possible. She also says there are other ways, besides using hormones, to prevent osteoporosis such as medication, supplements and lifestyle changes.
Most of the research only applies to combined estrogen plus progestin therapy among older post-menopausal women. Studies are continuing to monitor the effects of estrogen therapy, but it is uncertain what the long-term effects may be. Some initial studies have shown older women who took estrogen only exclusively — even for 25 years or more — were at no greater risk of breast cancer than those who had never taken hormones.
Senay says women questioning themselves whether to start taking or continue taking combination therapy should consult their doctor about their individual risks and benefits.