Oestrogen plus progestogen did not prevent cardiovascular disease in postmenopausal women
Q Does oestrogen plus progestogen reduce the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) in postmenopausal women?
METHODS
Design:
randomised placebo controlled trial.
Allocation:
{concealed}*.
Blinding:
blinded {patients, clinicians, data collectors, outcome assessors, and monitoring committee}*.
Follow up period:
mean 5.6 years.
Setting:
{40 clinical centres in the US}*.
Patients:
16 608 postmenopausal women who were 50–79 years of age (mean age 63 y), had an intact uterus, and resided in the same geographic area for ⩾3 years.
Interventions:
1 daily tablet of oral conjugated equine oestrogen, 0.625 mg, plus medroxyprogesterone acetate (Prempro, Wyeth Ayerst, Philadelphia, PA, USA), 2.5 mg, (n = 8506) or placebo (n = 8102).
Outcomes:
CHD defined as acute myocardial infarction (MI) requiring overnight admission to hospital, death caused by CHD, or silent MI identified on serial electrocardiography. Secondary outcomes included coronary revascularisation, confirmed angina, and …
