Research

Hormonal

Early postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy (HRT) significantly reduces the risk of mortality, myocardial infarction, or heart failure compared to no treatment, without increasing the risk of stroke, venous thromboembolism, or cancer.

For recently postmenopausal women, starting hormone replacement therapy early (within a few years of menopause) can significantly lower the risk of heart attacks, heart failure, and death, without increasing the risk of stroke, blood clots, or cancer. This benefit was observed in women with or without a uterus, using standard hormonal regimens. Women considering HRT should discuss the timing and type of therapy with their healthcare provider, as starting early seems to be key to cardiovascular benefit.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
After 10 years of randomised treatment, women using HRT early after menopause had significantly reduced risks of mortality, heart failure, or myocardial infarction, without any apparent increase in cancer, venous thromboembolisms, or stroke.
Louise Lind Schierbeck et al. · BMJ · 2012

Why this rating

Randomized controlled trial with long-term follow-up, though open-label design introduces potential bias.

Source

Effect of hormone replacement therapy on cardiovascular events in recently postmenopausal women: randomised trial

Louise Lind Schierbeck et al. · BMJ · 2012

DOI 10.1136/bmj.e6409

rct · n=1006Cited 733×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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