Heart Health

Hormone replacement therapy and heart disease

Estrogen pills have several benefits. They can help you feel more comfortable as your body adjusts to lower estrogen levels by decreasing hot flashes, night sweats, or vaginal dryness. They may also help to prevent osteoporosis, a thinning of the bones that makes them more likely to break. Many studies also have found that estrogen pills may help protect women from developing coronary heart disease, but more research is needed before we will know this for sure.

Estrogen therapy also has risks. It may increase the chances of developing gallbladder disease, and it may worsen migraine headaches. It may also increase the risk of breast cancer. But by far, the biggest risk of taking estrogen pills is cancer of the uterus, but this risk is greatly decreased by taking progestin, another hormone. Finally, we don't yet know whether this combination will boost the risk of breast cancer. Studies are now under way to find answers to these important questions.

In the meantime, a woman and her doctor must decide whether the benefits of hormone therapy are worth the risks. If you are considering this treatment, you will need to consider your overall health and your personal and family history of heart disease, uterine and breast cancer, and osteoporosis.

If you are now on hormone therapy, check with your doctor to be sure that you are taking the lowest possible effective dose. At least every 6 months, the need for continued treatment should be re-evaluated. Be alert for signs of trouble--abnormal bleeding, breast lumps, shortness of breath, dizziness, severe headaches, pain in your calves or chest--and report them immediately. See your doctor at least once a year for a physical examination.