NurseWeek

Hormone replacement therapy might improve circulation

By Jill Braden Balderas
Health24News
September 12, 2000


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Washington (H24N). Menopausal women undergoing hormone replacement therapy have a lower risk of contracting peripheral artery disease (PAD), according to a study published in today’s Archives of Internal Medicine.

An increasing problem, PAD is occurring in anywhere from 6 percent to 25 percent of women over 55, and the rates increase with age. Women are expected to make up most of the patients with PAD this century.

Researchers in the Netherlands, led by Iris Westendorp, MD, Ph.D., examined 2,196 menopausal women ages 55 to 80 and found that those who took hormone replacements, either progestins, estrogens or a combination of the two, for one year or more experienced a 52 percent decrease in PAD risk. No health improvement was found for those women who took hormone replacements for less than one year.

When factors such as age at menopause onset, cholesterol levels, body mass index, alcohol intake and frequency of visits to health care facilities were included, the results of the study did not change.

The researchers suggested that several studies have shown that women who use estrogen therapy during menopause are typically healthier than women who do not use the hormone therapy. This could create a natural bias for those women to be less likely in the first place to suffer from PAD.

PAD is a condition in which fatty deposits build up along artery walls, hampering circulation. Arteries leading to the legs and feet are most affected.