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Hormones
Linked To Heart Disease
PHILADELPHIA
(AP) - A new study questions the heart-health benefits of hormone
replacement therapy for post-menopausal women.
As a result
of the findings, the study's lead researcher is recommending that
doctors stop prescribing the therapy - called HRT - in hopes of
preventing heart disease and heart attacks.
``The jury's
still out on whether HRT prevents heart disease,'' lead researcher
Dr. JoAnn E. Manson said. ``Until further research is completed
on the risks and benefits, we would propose revamping current
guidelines for prescribing HRT that include heart disease as a
treatment benefit.''
The research,
part of the long-running Nurses' Health Study, appears in Tuesday's
issue of Annals of Internal Medicine.
It shows that
post-menopausal women who have had a heart attack or heart disease
diagnosis and have been on HRT for less than one year have a 25
percent higher risk of another heart attack or dying of heart
disease than similar women who have never been on hormone therapy.
However, the
study also found that women who had been on HRT long term - for
two years or more - had a 62 percent decrease in risk. But that
decrease might reflect healthier lifestyle habits and not hormones,
said Manson, chief of preventive medicine at Brigham and Women's
Hospital in Boston.
``Women who
comply long-term (with hormone replacement therapy) tend to be
lower risk to begin with. They're more health-conscious and generally
have better access to medical care,'' Manson said. ``So it's unclear
whether that's a real reduction in risk because of the hormone.''
The findings
are based on 2,489 participants in the Nurses Health Study that
took place from 1976 to 1996 and tracked more than 120,000 female
nurses overall for a variety of research studies.
An estimated
20 million women take hormone supplements to relieve post-menopausal
symptoms such as flushing and hot flashes. It has also been touted
to lower the risk of heart disease and osteoporosis after menopause.
However, some
studies have connected hormone supplements with increasing the
risk of developing blood clots, gallstones and breast cancer.
The research
should serve as a ``real eye-opener'' to doctors and patients
that preventing heart disease takes more than just popping a pill,
said Dr. Nieca Goldberg, chief of the women's heart program at
Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.
``There is
no proof in the medical literature that hormone replacement therapy
is the answer to heart disease prevention in women,'' she said.
``Lifestyle changes like increasing activity, decreasing blood
pressure and quitting smoking are difficult - but over time, they're
the things that have been shown to really reduce heart disease
risks.''
On the Net:
Annals of
Internal Medicine, http://www.annals.org
Reference
Source 89
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