doi: 10.1161/01.CIR.0000055468.06011.6A
(Circulation. 2003;107:e9001.)
© 2003 American Heart Association, Inc.
Cardiovascular News
Circulation Newswriter
An extract of the first 250 words of the full text is provided, because this article has no abstract. |
The Hormone Replacement Therapy Story Continues
In a report in this week’s issue of the journal Circulation, the use of estrogen plus progestin appeared to be associated with reduced risk of heart attack in diabetic women who had not already had a myocardial infarction (Circulation. 2003;107:43–48).
The lowered risk seemed to be associated with low or medium dosages of estrogen but not a high dose, said the group of researchers led by Assiamira Ferrara, MD, PhD, of the Division of Research at North California Kaiser Permanente in Oakland. The researchers assessed the 3-year risk of myocardial infarction among 24 420 women who had not had a recent one. In the study, the researchers identified 1110 new heart attacks.
Adjusting for cardiovascular risk factors, the researchers discovered that the use of hormone replacement therapy appeared to be associated with a reduced risk of myocardial infarction.
However, among the 580 women in the group who had had a recent myocardial infarction, the use of hormone replacement therapy was associated with an increased risk of heart attack.
In an associated editorial (Circulation. 2003;107:2–4), David M. Herrington, MD, MHS, of the Department of Medicine/Cardiology at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, NC, noted that previous studies, primarily the Heart and Estrogen/progestin Replacement Study (HERS) and the Women’s Health Initiative, had demonstrated that there was a higher incidence of myocardial infarction and coronary heart disease death in women who received hormone replacement therapy.
Dr Herrington noted that the findings have raised a number of