This aim of this open label, randomised, controlled trial was to investigate the long-term effect of hormone replacement therapy on cardiovascular outcomes in 1,006 women who were recently menopausal. The women were randomised to receive either the control or were assigned to a treatment group; women received triphasic estradiol and norethisterone acetate, and for women who had undergone a hysterectomy 2mg estradiol daily was administered. The primary endpoint in this study was a composite of death, admission to hospital for heart failure and myocardial infarction. After 10 years of intervention, 16 women in the treatment group experienced this primary composite endpoint compared with 33 in the control group. This finding indicates that the women receiving HRT had a significantly reduced risk of mortality, heart failure or myocardial infarction without any apparent increase in the risk of cancer, venous thromboembolism, or stroke.
