Hormone Therapy May Be Safe for Some Women After All

It's not necessary for all women to avoid taking hormones when menopausal symptoms become unbearable.

Published: May 22, 2023

Screen Shot 2023-05-07 at 9.27.17 AM — © zoranm | Getty Images Postmenopausal hormone therapy is not universally dangerous, researchers have discovered. It appears to be safe for women with an otherwise low risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. For many of these women, using a product that is absorbed through the skin rather than systemically is key.

For two decades, women have avoided taking hormone therapy (HT) for relief of menopausal symptoms for fear it could trigger a serious or fatal cardiovascular (CV) event. But new data gathered by the American College of Cardiology’s Cardiovascular Disease in Women Committee, led by Leslie Cho, MD, physician editor of Heart Advisor, found that CV risk varies. A careful review of recent studies revealed that risk depends on how soon after menopause onset HT therapy is started, the type of HT that is used and the other CV risk factors a woman has.