Menopause news

Cardiovascular risk in relation to menopause and HRT use.

April 2005

In the British Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, April 2005, a study has reported the effect on menopause and HRT use on various metabolic risk factors for cardiovascular disease in a sample of 1303 British women, all aged 53. It showed that those who had become menopausal had an increase in levels of total and LDL cholesterol and HbA1c. Those women who were taking HRT had lower levels of metabolic risk factors and it was concluded that this may provide protection against future cardiovascular disease, or there may be other, possibly unknown, detrimental effects of HRT.

Comment: Currently, HRT should not be used for primary or secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease as the main indication but there may still be a preventative role if commenced early in the menopausal transition. It seems that there is still much to learn about the effect of menopause and the role of HRT in development of cardiovascular disease.

Br J Obstet Gynecol. 2005; 112:476-485.

< Go Back

<< News Index