Understanding hormone therapy for menopausal symptoms

Although some women breeze through menopause, others have symptoms that persist for years. A report from the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation, or SWAN, a long-term study of women of different races and ethnicities who are in the menopausal transition, found that up to 80% of women experience symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats, and heart palpitations, and that those symptoms in some cases last more than eight years. Other common symptoms are sleep disruptions, an increase in depression and anxiety, vaginal dryness, and pain during sex. Hormone therapy (HT) can help with many of these problems.