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Getting the latest healthcare news for you
Getting the latest healthcare news for you
Menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) may be good for the heart — at least when started at the right time. A new study found that perimenopausal and recently postmenopausal women with hot flashes or night sweats who initiated MHT had a 22% lower risk of cardiovascular events. The benefit was strongest when therapy began within 10 years of menopause and was especially pronounced among Black women.
A large observational study published in JAMA Internal Medicine found that menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) — including oral or transdermal estrogen with or without progestogens — was associated with a meaningful reduction in cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk among women experiencing vasomotor symptoms like hot flashes and night sweats.
Researchers analyzed data from 2,737 women (ages 42+) collected between 1996 and 2017. Of those, 755 initiated MHT. Over nearly a decade of follow-up, women who started MHT had a 22% lower risk of composite CVD events compared to non-initiators. The benefit was most pronounced when therapy was started within 10 years of menopause onset — and notably, Black women saw a 49% reduction in CVD risk, a finding researchers called especially significant given that vasomotor symptoms are more prevalent in this group.
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Why it matters: While these findings are encouraging, experts caution that the observational design can't prove causality, and the authors themselves note the results don't support using MHT specifically for CVD prevention. Randomized clinical trials are still needed — but for women with vasomotor symptoms weighing MHT's risks and benefits, this study offers meaningful reassurance.
