Complications (2)
- Osteoporosis
- Menopause weight gain: Stop the middle age spread
Lifestyle and home remedies (4)
- Diabetes and menopause: A twin challenge
- Quit smoking: Proven strategies to help you quit
- Belly fat in women: Taking — and keeping — it off
- see all in Lifestyle and home remedies
Risk factors (1)
- Menopause weight gain: Stop the middle age spread
Symptoms (1)
- Vaginal atrophy
Treatments and drugs (2)
- Hormone replacement therapy and your heart
- Hormone therapy: Is it right for you?
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Hormone replacement therapy and your heart
How to limit the risks
- Start hormone therapy early. Hormone therapy doesn't appear to significantly increase the risk of heart disease risk in women under age 60. In fact, some studies suggest that estrogen may protect the heart when taken early in your menopausal years.
- Minimize the amount of medication you take. Use the lowest effective dose for the shortest amount of time needed to treat symptoms.
- Try a form of hormone therapy with limited systemic effects. Estrogen and progestin are available in many forms, including pills, skin patches, gels, vaginal creams, and slow-releasing suppositories or rings that you place in your vagina. If your most bothersome symptoms are vaginal, treatments that are administered locally — such as a vaginal cream, ring or tablet — will minimize the amount of hormones that are absorbed into your bloodstream.
- Make healthy lifestyle changes. Counter the risks of hormone therapy by making heart-healthy lifestyle changes. Don't smoke or use tobacco products. Get regular physical activity. Eat a healthy diet focusing on fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat protein. Maintain a healthy weight. And get regular health screenings to check your blood pressure and cholesterol levels to detect early signs of heart disease.
A balancing act
Women of all ages should take heart disease seriously. Among U.S. women, 1 in 4 deaths each year is due to heart disease.
At the same time, most women can safely take short-term hormone therapy for menopausal symptoms without significantly increasing the risk of heart disease. If you experience severe vaginal symptoms or wake up at night with hot flashes, don't avoid hormone therapy for fear of its risks. Instead, talk to your doctor about how you can relieve troublesome symptoms while protecting your heart.
It's also still possible that hormone therapy confers some protection from heart disease when taken early in your postmenopausal years. A randomized, controlled clinical trial — the Kronos Early Estrogen Prevention Study (KEEPS) — exploring estrogen use and heart disease in younger postmenopausal women is under way, but it won't be completed for several years.
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- Martin KA. Postmenopausal hormone therapy: Benefits and risks. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Feb. 5, 2010.
- Menopause and hormones. Food and Drug Administration. http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ByAudience/ForWomen/ucm118624.htm. Accessed Feb. 5, 2010.
- Questions and answers about the WHI postmenopausal hormone therapy trials. National Institutes of Health. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/whi/whi_faq.htm. Accessed Feb. 5, 2010.
- Martin KA. Treatment of menopausal symptoms with hormone therapy. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Feb. 5, 2010.
- Ferri FF. Hot flashes. In: Ferri FF. Ferri's Clinical Advisor 2010. St. Louis, Mo.: Mosby; 2009. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/175824536-4/931096584/2088/311.html#4-u1.0-B978-0-323-05609-0..00017-4--s3595_6411. Accessed Feb. 5, 2010.
- Estrogen and progestogen use in postmenopausal women: July 2008 position statement of The North American Menopause Society. Menopause: The Journal of the North American Menopause Society. 2008;15:584.
- Agepage. http://www.nia.nih.gov/healthinformation/publications/menopause.htm. Accessed Feb. 5, 2010.
- Heart disease: Frequently asked questions. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: Office on Women's Health. http://www.womenshealth.gov/faq/heart-disease.cfm. Accessed Feb. 5, 2010.
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