The new report is part of the Nurses’ Health Study, an ongoing survey (begun in 1976) of the health of 121,700 female nurses. The researchers, led by epidemiologist Dr. Meir Stampfer of Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital, monitored 48,470 postmenopausal women for 10 years. About halftook or had taken estrogen; half did not. Even women with the lowest risk of cardiac problems-nonsmokers who weren’t obese and didn’t have high blood pressure or diabetes-had the same dramatically reduced risk of heart disease if they took estrogen. “This is evidence that even healthy women should consider taking estrogen after menopause,” says Stampfer.
The Harvard report is not the last word on the topic. The study subjects did not take progesterone, a female hormone now usually prescribed along with estrogen to counter the increased risk of cancer of the uterine lining that estrogen alone can cause. Nurses receiving the combined regimen are now being studied. Progesterone may, however, interfere with estrogen’s ability to raise “good” HDL cholesterol levels-probably one of several reasons estrogen reduces heart disease. In considering hormone-replacement therapy, women should make sure their doctors explain the delicate balance of risks and benefits.
