Postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy and the prevention of cardiovascular disease: a review.

The role of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for the prevention of cardiac disease is contentious. In this review the epidemiological evidence for the role of HRT in primary and secondary prevention of cardiac disease is assessed. Although current studies suggest very little role for HRT in women with established cardiac disease, its use in the 'healthy woman' without vascular disease until recently was not clear. HRT for the sole purpose of prevention of cardiac disease is now not indicated.