Increased Risk of Stroke in Hypertensive Women Using Hormone Therapy

Abstract

STROKE AFFECTS 1 per 1000 women per year aged 45 to 65 years.¹ Postmenopausal use of female steroid sex hormones, so-called hormone therapy (HT), may potentially affect the development of stroke; however, results from observational studies have provided conflicting results.² This may be explained by different HT regimens and different hormone compounds. Furthermore, strokes may be classified as fatal or nonfatal and as ischemic or hemorrhagic, yet studies lack consistency in stroke definition. In addition, HT users have been reported to be healthier than nonusers concerning cardiovascular risk factors,^3,4 but definition of a "healthy user" effect may vary between studies and introduce confounding or selection bias in observational epidemiological studies. Finally, the mixed results may also stem from interactions between risk factors for stroke and HT, ie, different effects of HT among different subgroups of women.