Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) uses medications to reduce the symptoms associated with menopause. These medications can also help protect against other diseases, such as osteoporosis and colon cancer. Women may take one or more of these hormone drugs in the form of pills, skin patches, vaginal creams, vaginal rings, suppositories or injections.

When a woman enters menopause, her body gradually stops making the reproductive hormones  estrogen  and progesterone. This can cause a number of potential symptoms, including hot flashes, vaginal dryness and thinning of the bones (osteoporosis). HRT may help ease these symptoms. It is usually prescribed in one of two forms:

• Estrogen. Can be given alone to women who no longer have a uterus.

• Estrogen and progesterone. Must be given in combination to women who still have their uterus, because progesterone has uterine cancer-fighting properties.

For many years, physicians commonly recommended HRT to women during and after menopause. However, the Woman’s Health Initiative (sponsored by the National Institutes of Health) conducted a 15-year study of more than 160,000 post-menopausal women that ended prematurely in 2002. This study, which revealed health risks associated with HRT, such as blood clots, breast cancer and others, have made physicians more cautious about prescribing these drugs. As a result, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) now requires manufacturers of estrogen medications to include information about these risks in revised labeling that accompanies the drugs.

There is much debate in the medical community about whether to recommend HRT to patients. Despite the possible risks, it should be emphasized that the likelihood of adverse effects due to HRT is very low in most women. HRT is considered the best treatment for relieving hot flashes, night sweats and vaginal dryness. However, women who have had cancer – including cancers of the breast, endometrium or uterus – should not take HRT. Regardless of whether or not women choose to take HRT, all women are encouraged to make healthy lifestyle changes such as exercising, quitting smoking, eating a heart-healthy diet and controlling conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure.