Women who started menopausal hormone therapy during perimenopause or shortly after menopause while experiencing hot flashes and night sweats had an estimated 22% lower risk of cardiovascular disease than similar women who did not start treatment, according to an analysis published this week in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Timing was the decisive variable. Women who began within 10 years of menopause onset showed an estimated 27% lower risk. Among women who started more than a decade after menopause, no clear benefit was estimated, and the range around that result was wide enough that it cannot be read as either protective or harmful. The strongest single association appeared among Black women, at an estimated 49% lower risk.
