Postmenopausal women experience a range of menopausal symptoms, and previous studies have suggested that the risk of cardiovascular disease and fractures increases after menopause, making estrogen supplementation a reasonable treatment. However, estrogen and progesterone supplementation can lead to other side effects, such as an increased risk of breast cancer. Patients often ask if they should take estrogen and progestin supplements. In order to answer this question, it is necessary to clarify the risks and benefits of estrogen and progestin supplementation. Therefore I have included here for your reference an excerpt from an article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Since 1993 to 1998, a large clinical study was implemented in the United States, enrolling more than 16,000 healthy, postmenopausal women between the ages of 50 and 70. These individuals were randomized into two groups, one receiving combined estrogen and progestin therapy and the other receiving placebo. The purpose of the study was to assess whether the estrogen-progestin combination therapy reduced the incidence of cardiovascular disease, cancer and fractures. The study was expected to be followed until 2005, but in 2002 it found that patients in the estrogen supplementation group had a 29% increased risk of heart disease, a 26% increased risk of breast cancer, a 41% increased risk of stroke, and a 2.13-fold increased risk of pulmonary embolism. The risk of colorectal cancer, endometrial cancer, and fracture decreased by 17-37%. For the combined estrogen and progestin treatment group, the absolute risk increase per 10,000 people per year was 7 cases of heart disease, 8 cases of breast cancer, 8 cases of stroke, and 8 cases of pulmonary embolism. The absolute risk reduction per 10,000 people per year was 6 cases of colorectal cancer and 5 cases of hip fracture. Overall, for healthy postmenopausal women, after 5.2 years of follow-up, the risks associated with estrogen-progestin combination therapy outweighed the benefits. The results of this study do not support the use of estrogen-progestin combination therapy for the prevention of chronic disease, including heart disease.