Hormone Replacement Therapy in Women

Additional Information about the WHI:

Frequently asked questions for this study may be found at: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/whi/whi_faq.htm

Follow up data from the WHI trial:

Hormone therapy started earlier in menopause: Hormone therapy that is started earlier in menopause at least by the age of 60 may result in a lower risk of adverse outcomes as opposed to starting it after the age of 60 (2). Salpeter, SR et al reported in a meta-analysis that hormone therapy lowered the risk of cardiac events in women less than 10 years from menopause or age under 60, but women who were older did not have this benefit (17). This meta-analysis also noted an increase in cardiac events in older women during the first year, but then a lower risk of cardiac events was seen after 2 years (17). Salpeter, SR et al also reviewed mortality data in a separate meta-analysis and found that women on hormone replacement therapy under age 60 had a lower mortality, but did not affect mortality in women over age 60 (18).