The latest confusion comes out of an article from ThirdAge which I will link [...]]]>  

Confusion About the Risks of Hormone Replacement Therapy! 

Once again confusion has entered the world of hormone replacement therapy.  I bring this up in a heart disease blog because the type of treatment for menopausal symptoms can have an effect on cardiovascular health.  

The latest confusion comes out of an article from ThirdAge which I will link to below.  The article focuses on Dr. Shelley Salpeter and her colleagues at Santa Clara Medical Center in California.  They examined 19 studies involving 16,283 women with a mean age of 55 years.  Dr. Salpeter and her colleagues found that hormone replacement therapy was associated with a 27 percent reduction in relative mortality risk and an absolute risk reduction of around 1 percent.   

Their collective research is published in the American Journal of Medicine.  They felt it was important to address the concerns raised by the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) study that showed postmenopausal women over 63 years of age had an increased risk for heart disease, cancer, stroke and blood clotting due to hormone replacement therapy.  Dr. Salpeter felt that the WHI results were poorly interpreted especially as they applied to younger women.  Quoting from the ThirdAge article: 

“Available evidence indicates that hormone therapy in younger postmenopausal women increases the risk of breast cancer and pulmonary embolism, and reduces risk of cardiovascular events, colon cancer, and hip fracture.  The total mortality benefit for younger women seen in the randomized trials and observational studies indicates that the reduction in deaths from coronary heart disease, fracture and colon cancer outweighed the increase in deaths from breast cancer, stroke, and pulmonary embolism.” 

So What Does This Mean? 

It means risk / reward.  It means risk using hormone replacement therapy to help with menopausal symptoms and be rewarded with the potential for less coronary heart disease, fractures and colon cancer while increasing your risk for breast cancer, stroke, and pulmonary embolism.  Since the absolute risk for death has only a 1 percentage difference let’s not be overly concerned since the short term health benefits outweigh the negatives; especially since 12xs more women die from heart disease then from breast cancer. 

My question is:  Why not a reward / reward option!  Instead of making conventional hormone replacement therapy the first option why not the last option!  Why not work with a qualified health professional to look for natural and effective alternatives to peri menopausal and menopausal symptoms?  Why not apply that some consultive approach with your health professional for cardiovascular solutions?

To help education you on both sides of the menopausal equation I’ve a couple of links below: 

http://www.thirdage.com/menopause/hrt-reduces-mortality-risk-in-50s – This links you to the actual article from ThirdAge in case I’ve misinterpreted the information. 

http://www.amjmed.com/article/PIIS0002934309006664/fulltext – This links you to Dr. Salpeter’s actual research article posted on The American Journal of Medicine’s website. 

Natural Remedies for Hot Flashes! – One of the symptoms of peri menopause and menopause is hot flashes and learning how to effectively use natural remedies can be a Godsend for women. 

What Causes Night Sweats! – This links to another one of my articles.  For many, night sweats are even worse than hot flashes so learning what causes them and how to stop them can do wonders for your overall health. 

The two articles will also provide additional links to help educate you on potential solutions to menopausal symptoms. 

Together we can work to save a million lives! 

Dan Hammer 

The information contained in this blog is for general information purposes only and never as a substitute for professional medical advice or medical exam.  The information contain in this blogging website has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and should not be used to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease without the supervision of a qualified medical doctor.