Estrogen Therapy Essay

The effects of estrogen replacement therapy on the cardiovascular system have been debated for a while. Elevated levels of homocysteine even to a mild or moderate degree have been associated with an increased risk for CVD. A recent meta-analysis revealed a graded and linear relationship between increased cardiovascular risk and elevated homocysteine levels. (Yuksel et. al, 2011). Estrogen replacement was given to the surgically induced menopausal women evaluating the levels of homocysteine. A total of 45 women were given estrogen orally or subcutaneous. Yukel et. al, states that a growing body of evidence suggests that different types of estrogen, different doses and routes of delivery as well as different populations treated with post-menopausal HRT may result in a different risk benefit profile. Using the different routes of estrogen administration allows the study to have different baselines. Blood samples were taken 15 weeks after the estrogen therapy was started. The levels of homocysteine remained neutral during the treatment. The blood samples did not show an increase or a decrease. Estrogen therapy does not affect the levels of homocysteine, which indicates no changes in the cardiovascular system. Another group of …show more content…
The first study consisted of 29 postmenopausal women who were already on estrogen therapy and 29 who were not on the therapy, they included the comparing of stress into the study. Adding the stress factor showed that the estrogen therapy alone is not the only factor contributing to the negative or positive effects on the cardiovascular system. The second study included a total of 38 healthy postmenopausal women, between the ages of 53 and 65, who were not initially on hormone replacement therapy but was randomly selected to either get transdermal estrogen or none for six to eight