Cholesterol Can Indicate Possible Risk with Hormone Use

Many women who have read of the possible risks of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) have decided against their use to combat menopause symptoms. Others have decided in favor of using them, but have remained anxious that they may be doing the wrong thing. Now there’s evidence they can use to help in deciding whether to continue with HRT or not; it’s published in the American Journal of Cardiology.

The authors of the study used Women’s Health Initiative hormone trials data to determine if lipid levels and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels could help predict coronary heart disease in postmenopausal women taking HRT. They examined results from 271 women with coronary artery disease and 707 controls, who were disease-free.

The results of the study showed that hormone therapy increased the risk of coronary disease in women who had LDL cholesterol levels above 130 mg/dL, or a LDL-to-HDL cholesterol ratio at or above 2.5. If the LDL-to-HDL cholesterol ratio was less than 2.5, the women were at no greater risk of coronary disease than those not taking hormone therapy. These results were unaffected by the use of lipid-lowering drugs, such as statins. CRP results were less clear-cut, and did not provide as much useful information as those for cholesterol levels.

It can be concluded that a lipid profile – along with an evaluation of other cardiovascular risk factors - is worth doing before a decision as to the use of HRT is taken. The LDL -to- HDL cholesterol ratio is perhaps the most useful lab number to evaluate.