Hormone patches or creams for menopause symptoms may have lower blood pressure risk than pills

By LAURAN NEERGAARD
AP Medical Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Women often use hormone therapy to relieve hot flashes and other menopause symptoms — and new research suggests whether they choose pills, patches or creams might matter for their blood pressure. Women are more prone to heart disease after menopause and high blood pressure is one key risk factor. Canadian researchers tracked records of 112,000 women who used estrogen-only hormone therapy. Those taking oral estrogen were more likely to develop high blood pressure than those taking versions absorbed vaginally or through the skin. The findings were published Monday in the journal Hypertension.