What is hormone replacement therapy (HRT)?

HRT, sometimes called estrogen replacement therapy or ERT, generally refers to the practice of taking supplements of hormones such as estrogen alone or estrogen with another hormone called progesterone (progestin in its synthetic form). HRT replaces hormones that a woman’s (or man's) body should be making or was making prior to age-related decline.

Why would a woman take HRT?

Generally, health care providers prescribe HRT for two groups of women:

• Women going through menopause and who had already gone through it (called post-menopausal)—The natural levels of these hormones drop during menopause. This drop can lead to symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness, and sleep disturbances.  HRT may be used to help lessen some of these symptoms
• Women with certain health conditions—In some cases, women’s bodies don’t make normal levels of the hormones because of a medical problems, such as premature ovarian failure.  For these women, HRT replaces the hormones that their bodies should be making.