In the younger women, the 50- to 59-year-old women, it appeared that there was a suggestion that heart disease risk was lower, but in the older women it was either neutral or possibly even higher.

Women who need to take estrogen because of severe menopausal symptoms should take the smallest amount of dose, for the shortest possible amount of time.

We feel that our data are completely consistent with the current American Heart Association guidelines and the current FDA guidance to use the lowest possible dose for the shortest possible duration.

It really doesn't change anything, and I think at this point women have voted with their feet.

But you also have to bear in mind that there still is an increased risk of stroke, dementia and blood clots in the legs and a reduced risk for fractures. The [U.S.] Food and Drug Administration recommendation that estrogen should not be used for the purpose of heart disease still applies, and the recommendation that women who need to take it for menopausal symptoms should take the lowest dose for the shortest duration possible still holds.

In women, aspirin prevents strokes and doesn't have any real effect on heart attack, and in men aspirin prevents heart attacks but has no effect on the prevention of strokes. So there appears to be a gender-based difference in the beneficial effect of aspirin.