Coronary heart disease and post menopausal hormone replacement therapy - revisited

ABSTRACT

Until recently hormone replacement therapy [HRT] was recommended as a secondary prevention treatment for coronary heart disease [CHD] in post menopausal women. This recommendation was based on observational studies, showing some beneficial effects that were possibly due to enrollment bias, where users had a better CHD profile. Randomized controlled trials were needed to provide objective data on this issue. Now we have the results of three randomized trials addressing the relation of HRT and CHD in post menopausal women, two of them are secondary prevention and one is a primary prevention trial. In this review, analysis of the three studies will be provided and the recommendations will be presented