This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Lipids and HRT

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

Oestrogen replacement in HRT have various effects on lipid profile

  • there is an elevation of the high density lipoprotein cholesterol level and a lowering of the low density lipoprotein cholesterol level
  • there is a tendency for oestrogen to increase serum triglyceride levels (via an increase in hepatic VLDL production) - administration of oestrogen in women with a pre-existing hypertriglyceridaemia can cause gross hyperchylomicronaemia (and predispose to acute pancreatitis)

However there is evidence that the use of HRT can lead to an increase in the incidence of myocardial infarctions - in the Women's Health Initiative study there was a relative risk 1.29 at 5.2 years of myocardial infarction (comparing oestrogen plus progestogen arm vs. placebo group) (1).

Reference:

  1. Writing Group for the Women's Health Initiative Investigators. Risks and benefits of estrogen plus progestin in healthy postmenopausal women. Principal results for the Women's Health Initiative Randomized controlled trial. JAMA 2002; 288:321-333.
  2. British Heart Foundation Factfile (12/1996). Hormone Replacement Therapy.

 


Create an account to add page annotations

Add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation, such as a web address or phone number. This information will always be displayed when you visit this page

The content herein is provided for informational purposes and does not replace the need to apply professional clinical judgement when diagnosing or treating any medical condition. A licensed medical practitioner should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.

Connect

Copyright 2024 Oxbridge Solutions Limited, a subsidiary of OmniaMed Communications Limited. All rights reserved. Any distribution or duplication of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited. Oxbridge Solutions receives funding from advertising but maintains editorial independence.