Menopause describes the phase of a women's life when her ovaries produce less estrogen and stop releasing eggs leading to the end of the menstrual cycle. Although a normal part of the aging process, the symptoms of menopause, such as hot flashes, headaches and night sweats, often disrupt a woman's life enough to force her to seek treatment. The most common form of treatment, hormone replacement therapy, utilizes synthetic hormones---those made in the laboratory derived from plant or animal chemicals---to replace the natural hormones. Because the synthetic hormones fail to act identical, hormone replacement therapy, or HRT, can pose many health dangers.
Breast Cancer
Breast cancer describes a condition in which cells abnormally grow and form tumors in the tissues of the breast. As the second most common type of cancer of women in the U.S., doctors diagnose approximately 200,000 new cases each year, according to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.
Studies conducted by the Women's Health Initiative indicate that women taking combined hormone replacement therapy---both estrogen and progestin---increase their risk of breast cancer by 5 to 6 percent each year on the medication, according to the American Cancer Society.
Venous Thromboembolism
Venous thromboembolism describes a condition that includes both deep vein thrombosis---the accumulation of red blood cells, platelets and leukocytes into blood clots---and pulmonary embolism, in which a piece of the clot breaks away and travels to the lungs.
Women taking hormone replacement therapy medications, both combination therapy and estrogen alone, increase their risk for developing venous thromboembolism. To put the rise in risk in clearer perspective, MayoClinic.com reports that combination therapy might cause eight more cases of blood clots in every 10,000 women on HRT than in women taking a placebo. Similarly MayoClinic.com reports estrogen-only therapy might result in six more cases of thrombosis per 10,000 women.
Stroke
When blood flow to the brain becomes inhibited or blood leaks from blood vessels in the brain, cells in the brain die which interferes with normal brain functions. This condition, known as a stroke, causes sudden numbness or weakness, confusion, trouble speaking, vision impairments, loss of balance and severe headaches.
Combined hormone replacement therapy might cause approximately eight more cases of stroke per 10,000 women than would be experienced by 10,000 women not taking the therapy, says MayoClinic.com. Estrogen hormone replacement therapy might account for 12 more cases of stroke per 10,000.
Cardiovascular Disease
Cardiovascular disease describes any disease that affects the heart and blood vessels. The most common form of cardiovascular disease, coronary artery disease, causes approximately a half a million deaths each year in the U.S., according to the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute.
Many years ago, doctors believed that hormone replacement therapy reduced the risk of heart disease, according to Project AWARE. The studies conducted by the Women's Health Initiative found that not only does hormone replacement therapy not protect against heart disease, it may actually increase the risk for developing it.
