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Hormone Replacement Therapy and Heart Disease
Hormone Replacement Therapy and Heart DiseaseHeart disease is the leading cause of death among American women, but it can be different in women thanmen.Women tend to develop heart disease later in life than men. This may be because hormones, including thefemale hormone estrogen, help protect you against heart disease.Estrogen is believed to help protect your heart by relaxing blood vessels and keeping blood flowing.But when you go through menopause, your body produces much less estrogen. This leads to the commonsymptoms of menopause, like hot flashes. At the same time, your risk of heart attack and heart diseaseincreases.Hormone Replacement Therapy, or HRT, with estrogen and sometimes in combination with Progesterone, maybe prescribed to help control the symptoms of menopause. There are different forms of these hormones, usedfor replacement hormone therapy.Over the past decade, medical science has determined that in some cases replacing estrogen that is lostduring menopause may increase the risk of breast cancer and stroke. It may not help protect against heartdisease as much as we thought.As a result, the American Heart Association doesn’t recommend HRT to reduce the risk of heart disease orstroke.Instead of HRT, the American Heart Association recommends following a heart-healthy lifestyle to reduce yourrisks for heart disease and heart attack.Increase the amount of fruits and vegetables you eat.If you smoke, quit now. And avoid second hand smoke either way.Aim to get 150 minutes of physical activity each week. And keep your weight in a healthy range for you.If you have symptoms of menopause that are affecting your daily life, your healthcare provider might stillprescribe HRT for the short-term relief of symptoms.This short-term use is not linked to increased risk of cancer or other diseases.If you have questions about HRT, or are experiencing menopause symptoms, it’s a good idea to talk to yourhealthcare provider and ask what steps you can take to reduce your symptoms safely.This program is for informational purposes only. Publisher disclaims all guarantees regarding the accuracy, completeness,or suitability of this video for medical decision making. For all health related issues please contact your healthcare provider.PRG56260B EN HormoneReplacementTherapyAndHeartDisease.pdf© The Wellness NetworkPage 1 of 1
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