Lingering Questions About Hormone Therapy

Patient age and the timing of therapy initiation might affect the coronary risk associated with HT use.

Data from the HERS trial and from the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) combination-therapy and estrogen-only arms have shown that hormone therapy (HT) increases the risk for cardiovascular events, including stroke, in postmenopausal women. However, a new report from the WHI and another from the Nurses’ Health Study (NHS) suggest that patient age and the timing of therapy initiation may influence HT’s effect specifically on coronary events.

One report presents 7-year coronary outcomes data from the WHI’s estrogen-only arm, in which 10,739 postmenopausal women (age range, 50–79) with hysterectomies had been randomized to receive conjugated equine estrogen (CEE) or placebo. Overall, the CEE and placebo groups had similar rates of major coronary …

Reviewing Author

JoAnne M. Foody, MD