Postmenopausal hormone therapy and venous thromboembolism

IntroductionHormone therapy (HT) is the most effective treatment to counteract menopauserelated symptoms. Because venous thromboembolism (VTE) is the main harmful effect of HT among young postmenopausal women, reducing VTE risk appears to be a relevant strategy to improve the benefit/risk profile of HT among postmenopausal women.MethodsThis article is a review of recent findings regarding the VTE risk among women using HT.ResultsRecent data confirmed the safety of the transdermal route of estrogens administration in postmenopausal women requiring treatment. In addition, epidemiological data showed that use of concomitant progestins could increase VTE risk compared with progesterone use. Finally, results of a meta-analysis showed that the VTE risk increased with doses of oral estrogens.ConclusionThe route of estrogen administration, the type of concomitant progestogens and the dose of estrogens are three important determinants of the thrombotic risk among postmenopausal women using HT.