Question

An older adult is questioning the use of hormone replacement therapy and how safe this therapy is. Conduct Internet research to determine the newest findings on the use of hormone replacement therapy. Based on your research, what would you tell the patient?

Answer 1

Hormone replacement therapy that is also known as menopausal hormone therapy and it is useful to balance estrogen and progesterone in women around the time of menopause.

It depends on which age HRT should be taken and which phase of menopause it is taken. In the largest study till date about HRT has shown that it increases the risk of certain conditions like heart disease, stroke, blood clot and breast cancer.

Women who begin hormone therapy more than 10-20 years from the onset of menopause or at age 60 or older are at greater risk of the serious conditions above mentioned. But if the hormone therapy is started before the age of 60 or within 10 years of menopause, the benefits of hormone replacement therapy appears to outweigh the risk of those serious conditions. So, it can not be a generic conclusion that it's safe or not but it depends on the age and condition at which it is taken.