A new study found hormone replacement therapy does not pose harm to the heart when taken during menopause onset, contradicting earlier studies stating these kinds of drugs could be detrimental to women's health.
Researchers from the Phoenix VA Healthcare System observed more than 700 women to test whether early hormone treatment could affect the heart. The participants' ages ranged from 48 to 53, and their last menstrual period occurred within 36 months of the study.
The participants were grouped into three and given different hormone replacement treatments: low-dose oral hormone replacement therapy, a skin patch, and a placebo.
Over the span of four years, participants were assessed using ultrasound to check for possible thickness of the walls of the common carotid artery in the neck, along with the amount of calcium deposits in the heart arteries. These are common indicators of impending heart attack and stroke risk. The analysts also measured the participants' blood pressure, cholesterol and sugar levels.
The tests revealed that women who received oral treatment showed balanced cholesterol levels, while the skin patch group presented solid sugar levels. But researchers found few differences in the risk of heart disease for the three treatments.
"We were expecting it to slow down the progress of arterial disease," said study researcher Dr. S. Mitchell Harman, chief of the endocrine division and interim chief of medicine at the Phoenix VA Healthcare System, to Healthday News.
The researchers concluded that while estrogen failed to reduce the risk of heart disease, they didn't see any harm either.
"It doesn't hurt either," Harman added. "It looks like a wash."
The researchers recommend women begin hormone therapy shortly after menopause to relieve themselves from hot flashes and night sweats.
Further details of the study were published in the July 29 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
