Does HRT increase the risk of stroke?
Oestrogen does in fact increase the risk of stroke but this risk is small and minimised if other risk factors are eliminated. Factors which increase the womans risk of stroke are smoking, excessive alcohol intake, obesity, hypertension and raised Cholesterol. There is also an advantage to using transdermal oestrogen by way of a patch or gel, as compared to a tablet: oestrogen given in a tablet form has to be processed in the liver and this produces a slight increase in coagulation factors.
