3. You stopped taking hormone therapy to spare your heart
Not so fast. While the 2002 findings from the Women's Health Initiative showed that HT increased the risk of heart attacks, recent research suggests the reverse may be true if it's used at the right time. Results from a substudy by the WHI released this summer found that younger postmenopausal women (50 to 59) on estrogen-only therapy had 40 to 60 percent lower levels of calcium deposits in their arteries than women who weren't taking any hormones. Calcium is one of the components of plaque and is a marker for future heart attack risk.
"These findings do provide reassurance for recently menopausal women who are considering hormone therapy for the short-term treatment of menopausal symptoms," says lead author JoAnn Manson, MD, chief of preventive medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital, in Boston. "The evidence is mounting that a woman's age and length of time since menopause influences the effects of estrogen on health, particularly the risk of heart disease." Talk with your doctor to see if you should consider it.
