HRT Risks
Hormone replacement therapy exists to ease the unwanted effects of menopause. But as with other medical treatments, hormone replacement therapy brings in some hitches as well.
In the past, HRT was recommended not only as short term treatment option for menopausal symptoms such as hot flushes, headaches, panic attacks, poor memory, aching joints, reduced or loss of sexual appetite, and many others, but also as long term preventive measure against certain health issues like heart disease and osteoporosis.
However, recent studies revealed that there are HRT risks which make it inadvisable for use as long term treatment. Although the risks of HRT are not significantly high, and other risk factors may contribute to the onset of such diseases, it remains that women who are taking HRT are more likely to develop such diseases than those who are not taking HRT at all.
Research showed that around 32 out of 1000 50-year-old women, who are not taking HRT, are going to develop breast cancer before they turn 65 years old. For those who are strictly under HRT for a period of five years from age 50, the number of women at risk is at 33.5 for every 1000. Women with combined HRT from age 50 increase the number of breast cancer cases, making it 37 out of 1000. Although the risk of hormone replacement therapy in breast cancer is minimal, it still does not eliminate the fact that HRT contributes slightly to the onset of breast cancer.
Taking oestrogen-only HRT is found out to increase the possibility of getting womb lining cancer due to the HRT’s effect of thickening it. However, it has also been found out that taking progesterone eliminates the excessive lining through withdrawal bleed.
Ovarian cancer is also said to be among the numerous HRT risks. Taking oestrogen-only HRT for over five years enhances the development of the rare but deadly ovarian cancer. However, studies have not yet found any evidence that suggest the effect of combined HRT to a woman’s ovary.
Even if there previously was a strong belief that HRT prevents the occurrence of stroke and heart disease, research has contradicted this earlier claim. In fact, it pointed out that there are actually HRT risks associated with the stroke and heart disease. Oestrogen derived from a pregnant mare’s urine, and a progestogen known as medroxyprogesterone, are said to increase a woman’s likelihood oh having heart disease during her first year of HRT use. As for stroke, its risk is known to increase with age. Studies conducted on women ages 60, stroke is found out to be more common in those who are taking HRT for more than five years than in women who are completely free from HRT.
Venous thromboembolism is a serious medical condition that starts as clots in the veins. This condition affects the lungs and is a grave vein and pulmonary disease. Results of researches showed that women who are into HRT have greater chances of developing VTE especially during the first year of HRT use, than women who are not using HRT at all.
If previous studies stated an HRT benefit on mental functioning, current studies challenge that particular finding. Furthermore, studies go on to say that mental functioning is not only benefited by HRT, but the treatment can even cause harm to it. Dementia, which can develop later on in a woman’s life, is a hormone replacement therapy risk that not a lot of people know about.
Since there seems to be so much argument on whether the risks of hormone replacement therapy actually outweigh its benefits, women should see to it that they know all the sides of the treatment before deciding on it. After all, no one really wants to get treated for a particular health condition, only to develop a more serious one.