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Hormone Replacement Therapy in Postmenopausal Women

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) used to be the recommended treatment for menopausal women who were symptomatic due to the declining levels of estrogen in their bodies. However, in 2002 the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) announced that its study found that HRT increased a woman's risk of developing breast cancer and heart disease. At that point, many women opted to stop taking HRT or never to start taking it, whereas some still choose to take it.

  1. What HRT Does

    • When a woman undergoes HRT, she is putting back the hormones (estrogen and progesterone) that she has lost as a result of menopause. When the ovaries stop working because of menopause, far less estrogen and progesterone are produced, according to Epigee.org. When these hormones diminish, women have hot flashes, night sweats, aches and pains and insomnia, as well as a host of other problems.

    Advantages

    • The advantages of taking HRT include providing the body with an artificial supply of estrogen and progesterone, which eliminates many menopausal symptoms. Taking estrogen will reduce a woman's odds of developing osteoporosis, lubricate her vagina, improve sleep, plump up her skin and help prevent incontinence.

    Considerations

    • Epigee.org advises that plant estrogen helps build bone and can reduce the chance of a bone fracture by 80 percent. 2womenshealth.com notes that HRT appears to help improve a woman's mental outlook and brain function and eliminates pain during sex. It is also believed, according to 2womenshealth.com, that HRT reduces deaths that may be related to postmenopausal estrogen shortage.

    Dangers

    • The dangers of taking HRT include an increased risk of heart disease, dementia and breast cancer. Because estrogen stimulates cell division, it can increase a woman's risk of breast cancer by 9 percent and her risk of heart disease by 24 percent. Although estrogen was originally believed to stave off dementia, it is now thought to slightly increase a woman's chance of getting Alzheimer's disease, according to Epigee.org

    Types

    • There is estrogen and progesterone HRT available, which is designed for women who still have a uterus. Estrogen can irritate the endometrial lining, which can result in cancer. Consequently, it is given in combination with progesterone, which prevents the overgrowth of the uterine lining. Generally, estrogen-only HRT is given to women who have had a hysterectomy and no longer have a uterus so uterine cancer is not a concern.

    Short-Term Use

    • The Mayo Clinic notes that HRT is not the magical antidote for aging that it was once thought to be. HRT is no longer automatically recommended by doctors for menopausal women because of the associated risks; however, short-term rather than long-term use of HRT may be beneficial to some woman. Short-term use may decrease the risk of colorectal cancer and osteoporosis. Ask your physician for her recommendation.

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