[Estrogens and cardiovascular risk in postmenopausal women. I. Epidemiologic data]

The possible role of oestrogens in modifying the occurrence of ischaemic heart disease and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in general in postmenopausal women has long been controversial. Analysis of the literature indicates a difference between the epidemiological studies published before 1980 and those published recently. In the former, the risk in women using oestrogen replacement therapy (ERT) was either unchanged or increased when compared with those women who did not use ERT. In the latter the trend has changed and a clear protective effect of ERT has been shown. These contradictory results might be explained by a change in prescribing habits, using lower oestrogen doses and selecting women with no risk factor for CVD as candidates for long-term ERT.