HRT may help to protect the heart

by BEEZY MARSH, Daily Mail

Women using hormone replacement therapy may be cutting their risk of heart disease, doctors said yesterday.

Their study showed that HRT can halve the amount of artery hardening in the breast.

Such hardening, also called calcification, is thought to be a risk factor for heart attacks and stroke - though a number of other studies have failed to show that HRT protects against heart disease.

About a million British women take HRT to relieve distressing symptoms of the menopause, which include hot flushes and mood swings.

But the therapy is at the centre of controversy over its long-term benefits and safety.

Research has shown that it can prevent the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis and may even help protect memory and stave off Alzheimer's disease.

However, earlier claims that women would be protecting their heart by using HRT have not always been substantiated by research.

The latest study, published in the Journal of Medical Screening, appears to show a clear benefit.

In a study of 4,400 women aged 49 to 66 carried out by the department of radiology at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle upon Tyne, the rate of artery hardening was just under 8 per cent for those on HRT, and 14 per cent in those who had never used it.

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