Should Women Pick Natural Hormone to Avoid Heart Attack?

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) or in Britain, Hormone therapy (HT), is a system of medical treatment for women with symptoms of menopause. It employs one or more of a group of medications designed to boost artificially hormone levels. The main types of hormones involved are estrogen, progesterone, progestin, and sometimes testosterone.

According to a study, more and more Australian women are running away from HRT and using untested alternatives like herbs and so-called natural hormones to tackle their problems with the menopause. The finding of the study was published in the journal Climacteric in April 2009.

Nevertheless, the researchers who carried out the study warned that such natural alternatives were in fact unproven for safety and efficacy and more importantly, not approved by national health authorities.

953 women of age above 40 were interviewed by the researchers in 2008 to find out what they used for replacing their loss of hormones. Results obtained were compared with the data collected in health surveys carried out in 8 similar studies conducted between 1991 and 2004.

There was a sharp drop in both overall prevalence and length of use of conventional HRT from 2003. According to the researchers, this was due to the announcement in 2002 of a study that appeared to link HRT to a higher risk of breast cancer, heart attack and stroke.

However, they also indicated that though recent studies did endorse the benefits of HRT and revise downwards the possible risks on heart attack etc., women did not seem to go back to HRT.

The study found that 15.8 percent of women above the age of 50 were using HRT in 2004, down from 22 percent in 2000, and uses on HRT further dropped to 11.8 percent in 2008. On the other hand, use of alternative hormonal therapies was rare in 2004 but the number had risen to 4 percent in 2008.

To most health experts, HRT is still the best way to treat menopausal symptoms for most women. It is unfortunately that women who need help for their menopause are turning to some unproven and possibly unsafe alternatives because of scares. Women are therefore urged to contact their doctor before starting any treatments for menopausal symptoms.

Vitamin That May Protect One Against Heart Attack!

If one’s body is deficient of certain type of vitamin, he or she may face a high risk of having heart attack. In January 2008, researchers from Harvard Medical School reported that people with low level of Vitamin D might have a higher risk for heart attack, heart failure and stroke. The study was published in June 2008 in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine.

In their study of identifying possible health benefits from Vitamin D, researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston found that men with low levels of Vitamin D have a higher risk of getting heart attack.

The study involved 454 health professionals ages between 40 and 75 who had suffered a nonfatal heart attack or died of heart disease, and 900 other men with no history of cardiovascular disease. These subjects were followed for 10 years after providing blood samples to measure their Vitamin D levels.

The researchers compared participants who were deficient in Vitamin D (no more than 15 nanogrammes per milliliter of blood) with participants who were in the lower end of the normal range (at least 30 nanogrammes per milliliter of blood).

Men classified as deficient in vitamin D were about 2 and a half times more likely to have a heart attack than those with higher levels of the vitamin. In fact, those with low Vitamin D, besides being at higher risk for heart attack, were at particularly high risk to have a fatal heart attack.

Vitamin D is also known as “sunshine vitamin” because body makes Vitamin D when the skin is exposed to sunlight. It can be found in milk and fatty fish like salmon. Vitamin D helps our body to adsorb calcium and benefits bone health. Vitamin D deficiency can lead to osteoporosis for adults, rickets for children.

Several recent studies have also indicated that Vitamin D may offer a variety of other health benefits. This includes protecting against colon cancer, breast cancer, peripheral artery disease and tuberculosis.

Vitamin D may protect against heart attack in a number of ways. It might lower blood pressure, regulate inflammation, reduce calcification of coronary arteries, affect the heart muscle or reduce respiratory infections in winter.

To find out whether one’s Vitamin D level is normal, just visit the family doctor and take a blood test. Those with very low levels can take Vitamin D supplements.