HRT linked to heart attacks
Decrease in Hormone Replacement Therapy Use Tied with Dramatic Drop in Heart Attacks
In 2002 a report by the Women’s Health Initiative revealed that hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may significantly increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. Consequently, the use of HRT subsequently decreased. Now, a new report looks at weather this decrease has translated to a reduction in cardiovascular disease.
“After the 2002 report, the use of HRT in women aged 50 to 69 declined from more than 30 percent to less than 15 percent,” explains lead study author Kanaka Shetty, MD.
They found that the decreased use of HRT did not reduce the number of hospitalizations or deaths from stroke. However, it was, linked to a decrease in acute myocardial infarction among women.
The study found that for every 10,000 additional HRT users in one year, there will be 25 more heart attacks. By comparison, the Women’s Health Initiative found seven more heart attacks per 10,000 women on HRT in one year.
As for the non-effect on stroke figures, “We were surprised that HRT had such divergent effects on stroke and acute myocardial infarction in the overall population,” Dr. Shetty notes.
Medical Care - May 2009;47:600-606.
