Processes that are directly associated with the ovaries become greatly disrupted during menopause. Primarily, ovulation ends resulting in infertility. As the ovaries become increasingly inactive and blood flow to them diminishes, hormone production is greatly affected. In particular, estrogen and progesterone are no longer produced. These hormones are responsible for many functions involving the female reproductive system. The decrease of estrogen an

d progesterone can cause adverse symptoms that are an annoyance to many perimenopausal and postmenopausal women. Also, depletion of these hormones places women at a higher risk of developing other more serious conditions such as cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis and Alzheimer’s (Simon et al., 2001).

Currently there is a disagreement as to the effects of HRT on cardiovascular health. Published research has shown that HRT affects cardiovascular risk factors resulting in decreased low density lipoprotein cholesterol, lowered systolic blood pressure and lowered factor VII (Seed et al., 2000). A separate study supports this, showing that HRT lowered total cholesterol by 9.1% (Johnson et al., 2002). These decreases should be expected to correlate with an overall diminished risk or postmenopausal heart disease in women taking HRT. However, the American Heart Association has warned doctors regarding the use of these therapies for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases. The AHA support their position with two separate studies finding that the slowing of arterioclerosis previously associated with HRT was not significantly different than a placebo, and that patients already having a history of heart disease had an increase of 52% adverse cardiovascular events during the first year of treatment (Josephson, 2001). The AHA does not however, advise against women without history of heart disease taking HRT.

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