Five years after the Women’s Health Initiative released a report saying hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may increase the risk of cardiovascular and thromboembolic events, a new study came to similar conclusions. The newer report, from the Women’s International Study of Long Duration [O]estrogen After Menopause (WISDOM), weakens the hope that hormone replacement treatment could be cardioprotective in postmenopausal women.

“Data from WISDOM suggest that women starting or restarting combined estrogen and progestogen therapy an average of 14 years after menopause are at increased risk of cardiovascular disease and venous thromboembolism, at least in the early years of treatment,” Alastair H. MacLennan, M.D., of the University of Adelaide, and colleagues in Britain and New Zealand wrote.

Dr. Helen Roberts of the University of Auckland in New Zealand said these treatments “have come full circle.” For a while hormone replacement therapies were not used for their original intentions, but are once again being used to relieve hot flashes, night sweats, and vaginal dryness.

Dr. Roberts stated that women in early menopause who begin HRT treatments for their original purposes should not be at risk. “Healthy women in early menopause are at a low absolute risk whether they take hormones or not, and they are unlikely to face substantially increased risks when using hormones for a few years,” she wrote.

However, the study seemed to confirm that older, postmenopausal women should not begin HRT, especially if they have a history of heart problems or are at risk for heart disease. Dr. Nieca Goldberg of New York University’s Women’s Heart Program agreed. “Hormone therapy should never be given to a woman who has cardiovascular disease,” Dr. Goldberg stated.

Source: Neil Osterweil, MedPage Today, “Another Caution on Cardiovascular Risks From HRT,” July 12, 2007.