THURSDAY, Nov. 24, 2005 (HealthDay News) -- A new national study will examine whether hormone replacement therapy helps prevent heart disease in younger, recently menopausal women.
The four-year Kronos Early Estrogen Prevention Study (KEEPS) will include about 720 women, ages 42 to 58, enrolled at eight sites across the United States. The study will look at whether estrogen slows the rate of hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis), the major cause of heart attacks, and whether an estrogen skin patch is more effective than an estrogen pill.
"Hormone therapy isn't for everyone, but there is good evidence that it could be beneficial to younger, recently menopausal women," Dr. Rogerio A. Lobo, head of the KEEPS study center at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, said in a prepared statement.
"Estrogen is thought to have a protective effect against atherosclerosis by decreasing the level of 'bad' LDL cholesterol and increasing 'good' LDL cholesterol, as well as having many other beneficial effects on arteries," Lobo said.
"On the other hand, it may accelerate the onset of heart attacks in older women who already have patches of advanced atherosclerosis in their arteries. Therefore, the effect of estrogen may be positive when used early and deleterious when used late," Lobo said.
The study is funded by the private Aurora Foundation, based in Phoenix, Ariz. and is coordinated through the Phoenix-based Kronos Longevity Research Institute.
More information
The U.S. National Institute on Aging has more about hormone therapy.
