Changes in postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy use among women with high cardiovascular risk

Abstract

After randomized trials failed to support the use ofhormone replacement therapy (HRT) for preventing cardiovascular disease (CVD), HRT use for postmenopausalwomen declined. Our analysis of 1999-2000 and 2003-2004 National Health and Nutrition Surveys (NHANES) shows that HRT use decreased 19% (from 27.6 to 8.4%; P < .001) among women with CVD versus 3% (from 19.8 to 16.8%; P = .68) among low-risk women, suggestingthatmost of the drop in HRT use may be among women prescribed HRT as an unproven treatment to prevent CVD.