To print: Select File and then Print from your browser's menu
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Title: Cyclic Combined HRT Regimen via Patch, Gel Associated With Decreased Risk of MI
URL: http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/22E5AA.htm
Doctor's Guide
October 8, 2008

CHICAGO -- October 8, 2008 -- Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) taken on a cyclical basis is associated with a reduced risk of myocardial infarction (MI), according to new research on the association between HRT and heart attacks, published online the October 1 issue of the European Heart Journal.

The study also showed that oestrogen administered via a patch or gel on the skin or in the vagina reduces the risk of MI by more than a third.

The study is the largest to look at the effects of HRT since the Women's Health Initiative trial was stopped early after finding that HRT increased the risk of women developing a range of conditions including breast cancer and thromboembolism.

The research is an observational study of 698,098 healthy Danish women, aged 51 to 69 years, who were followed between 1995 and 2001. It has found that overall there was no increased risk of MI in current users of HRT compared with women who had never taken HRT.

However, the study did find that the risk of MI was 24% more in younger women aged 51 to 54 years who were taking HRT compared with women who had never taken HRT. In addition, the risk increased with longer duration use of HRT, which was not seen in the older age groups.

The study also found that the type of HRT and the way that the women took it made a difference to the risk of MI. Continuous HRT carried a 35% increased risk of MI compared with women who had never used HRT.

However, if HRT was taken on a cyclical basis, there was a tendency for these women to have a reduced risk of MI compared with women who had never used HRT. This was also seen if tibolone was used. If the method of taking the oestrogen was via a patch or gel on the skin or in the vagina, the risk of heart attack was reduced by more than a third.

"Our finding of lower risk with a cyclic combined regimen, which gives monthly bleeding, than with continuous combined oestrogen/progesterone therapy, which does not cause bleeding, is potentially of great clinical importance," said lead author Ellen Løkkegaard, MD, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.

"Also, the decreased risk of myocardial infarction with vaginal treatment is a very interesting finding that has not been tested before in large-scale observational studies."

"Our study does not change indications and duration recommendations for HRT. But the main message is that when hormone therapy is indicated for a woman, then a cyclic combined regimen should be preferred, and that application via the skin or the vagina is associated with a decreased risk of myocardial infarction," she said.


SOURCE: European Society of Cardiology

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright © 1999 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of P\S\L content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of P\S\L. P\S\L shall not be liable for any errors, omissions or delays in this content or any other content on its sites, newsletters or other publications, nor for any decisions or actions taken in reliance on such content.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This news story was printed from *Doctor's Guide to the Internet*
located at http://www.docguide.com
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Return to News Story Page

This site is maintained by webmaster@pslgroup.com
Please contact us with any comments, problems or bugs.
All contents Copyright (c) 1998 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc.
All rights reserved.