Should Women Take Estrogen?

Does estrogen—the nation's most prescribed drug—increase the risk of heart attack and stroke?

Preliminary results released this week from an ongoing study suggest that the answer may be yes.

Until this study, most doctors believed that estrogen, taken by nearly 16 million women, reduced the risk of heart attack. It's also used to help alleviate hot flashes and other symptoms of menopause and to reduce the risk of osteoporosis.

So what should women taking estrogen do? CBS News Medical Consultant Dr. Bearnadine Healy advises women to "look beyond the headlines."

"In fact, we have known for many years that estrogen does slightly, albeit slightly, increase your chance of getting blood clots," she says. "The big issue from the heart is, can estrogen interrupt the long term chronic build-up of plaque and clogged arteries?"

"That is the big killer of women in this country and is the major cause of stroke and heart attack. The jury is still out, but the odds are in favor of long term benefits to your heart."

Women taking estrogen should talk to their doctors. And researchers caution that the full results of the study won't be known until its completion in 2005.