BIG NEWS: Hotflash inc is the #1 Women's Health Podcast on Goodpods, and in the top 1.5 percent of podcasts according to Listen Notes. 

Thanks so much for making that happen! 

While Hotflash inc takes a break, we are replaying a popular and confounding episode here: 

With so much hype surrounding menopause hormone therapy today, it’s very hard to know what or who to believe. 

There is a big push to portray HRT not only as helpful for menopause symptoms, but also as a preventative for cardiovascular disease. But does this bear out in the research we have so far, most of which lumps bioidenticals and synthetic hormones into one basket? That was the question of the latest literature review published  American Heart Association’ journal Circulation this past Valentine’s Day – Rethinking Menopausal Hormone Therapy: For Whom, What, When, and How Long? – that looked at 96 papers, articles and studies. The authors included gynecologists, women’s health internists, endocrinologists, as well as Stephanie Faubion, medical director for the North American Menopause Society, all members of the American College of Cardiology Cardiovascular Disease in Women Committee. 

Kathryn Lindley, an MD and clinical investigator in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and one of the authors of the paper is my guest on the podcast this week to break down these findings.

Highlights: 

• why cardiologists have shied away from the topic of HRT
• why HRT isn't recommended for prevention of cardiovascular disease (even if it seems like it should be)
• the case for HRT to help symptoms
• calculating the of using HRT for symptoms ("it's not zero but...")
• why other health conditions matter
• when it comes to vaginal estrogen...
• respecting the HRT "the window of opportunity" 
• so, what can you do to prevent heart disease and stroke?
• the case for assessing reproductive risk factors (and what you need to tell your doctors about your previous reproductive life – even if she doesn't ask)
• the importance of taking in medical news in the media with "skepticism"
• the case for keeping top of your health during perimenopause and taking action early for your future health