A research study has found that a simple blood test may indicate whether post-menopausal hormone therapies present an elevated risk of a heart attack.
The study, part of the Women's Health Initiative (WHI), sponsored by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health, was conducted in 40 centers nationwide and included 271 cases of coronary heart disease in the first four years of the trials of estrogen alone and of estrogen plus progestin. Corresponding author Paul F. Bray, M.D., the Thomas Drake Martinez Cardeza Professor of Medicine, Director, Division of Hematology at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University and his co-authors report their findings in the June 1st edition of the American Journal of Cardiology.
"Because studies on hormone therapy have shown that they may increase heart attacks and strokes, many women have been reluctant to use this treatment," said Bray. "However, because hormones remain the most effective remedy for managing post-menopausal symptoms, such as hot flashes and night sweats, many women wanted to take this therapy, but have struggled with the decision because they feared the potential side effects. We found that a simple and widely used blood test may be useful to advise women if they are at an increased risk of a heart attack while undergoing hormone therapy."