Estrogens and lipids

PREVIEW

Cardiovascular disease may be a hormone-responsive disorder, as evidenced by the age-adjusted lower incidence of the disease in women than in men and the decrease in cardiovascular risk with hormone replacement therapy (HRT) found in observational studies. Also, evidence indicates that the incidence of cardiovascular disease rises sharply in the absence of estrogen after menopause. This response is accompanied by an increase in cardiovascular risk factors, including lipid levels. In this article, Drs Ariyo and Villabianca review the effect of HRT and its analogues on lipoprotein metabolism and discuss the influence of conventional HRT, selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs, sometimes called designer estrogens), and phytoestrogens on lipid parameters in women.