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(Circulation. 2003;108:e9038.)
© 2003 American Heart Association, Inc.

Cardiovascular News

Ruth SoRelle, MPH

Circulation Newswriter

An extract of the first 250 words of the full text is provided, because this article has no abstract.

More About Estrogen

Levels of estradiol were not associated with the risk of cardiovascular disease in hormone users or nonusers in a report from the Women’s Health Study that appears in this week’s issue of the journal Circulation (Circulation. 2003;108:1688–1693). Researchers noted lower sex hormone–binding globulin and a higher free androgen index in women who did not use hormone therapy and had a cardiovascular event, but this was not independent of body mass index and other cardiovascular risk factors.

This nested case-control study matched 200 women in the Women’s Health Study who developed cardiovascular disease to 200 who did not. Women were matched according to age, smoking, and postmenopausal hormone therapy status. Researchers measured testosterone, estradiol, and sex hormone–binding globulin levels, and they calculated the free androgen and free estradiol indices and the free androgen index/free estradiol index ratio for each research subject. There were no significant differences in hormones or sex hormone–binding globulin levels among women on hormone therapy who developed cardiovascular disease and those who did not. However, the researchers wrote: "Larger studies of the relationship between hormone levels and risk of CVD [cardiovascular disease] in women who are not using exogenous hormones are necessary to determine whether androgenicity is an independent cardiovascular risk factor in postmenopausal women."

Adding Clopidogrel Helps—CURE
Adding clopidogrel to aspirin is beneficial in patients with acute coronary syndromes, regardless of the dose of aspirin, said researchers from the CURE (Clopidogrel in Unstable angina to prevent Recurrent Events) study in a report in this week’s issue of the . . . [Full Text of this Article]