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American Morning

American Heart Association Changes Treatment Guidelines for Women

Aired July 24, 2001 - 09:06   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Brian, I want to get to a health story now, a medical story that is catching the attention of millions of women across America. It is about new guidelines for hormone replacement therapy, and it has to do with women's cardiac conditions.

Let's get right to those recommendations right now. It's coming from the American Heart Association and it has issued new guidelines about hormone replacement therapy. Women with cardiovascular disease are being advised not to take hormones for the sole purpose of preventing heart attacks or strokes.

There's also news this morning about West Nile Virus. We're going to get to that in just a moment.

First, let's get to the hormone replacement therapy, and we have our health correspondent Rhonda Rowland here with us. First, Rhonda, a moment of just frustration, can we just say for millions of women across America. It's like wait, we just made this decision and you come out with additional information. It is a frustrating and confusing decision that so many women need to make.

RHONDA ROWLAND, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. It's very confusing, and first, let's just talk about the heart benefits. There has been a widespread perception among women and doctors for some time now that they protect against heart disease, and the reason there's been this misperception or perception is there were studies done looking at large groups of women taking hormones and researchers saw that they had lower rates of heart disease.

Then, they did some other studies looking at markers for heart disease, like cholesterol levels, and found that women taking hormones had lower levels. So, they made this leap to suggest that hormones could protect against heart disease.

Recently, however, there have been studies that have found just the opposite, that women on these hormones actually had higher rates of heart attack, stroke and blood clots. So, for that reason, the American Heart Association has released guidelines.

And first of all, they are advising physicians to steer clear of prescribing hormone replacement therapy for the sole purpose of preventing heart attack and stroke in women who already have cardiovascular disease. KAGAN: So, just to interrupt here a second, Rhonda, so that we don't lose people here. There are millions of American women waking up today who are taking hormone replacement therapy. They are feeling like they need to make another decision.

ROWLAND: Right.

KAGAN: So, that graphic was dealing with if you do -- if are taking hormone replacement therapy, and if you do have heart disease?

ROWLAND: That's right. If you have heart disease, you're considering this decision, you should not go on hormones. But if you...

KAGAN: But you're already on them.

ROWLAND: If you are already on them, then you can stay on them. You don't have to make a change. But if you stay on them, you need to look at it for other reasons, like other risks and benefits.

KAGAN: Let's move ahead to women without heart disease.

ROWLAND: OK, for women -- here's the risks and benefits, a little confusing here. The other benefits that you need to consider is relief of hot flashes, prevention of osteoporosis; the risks, blood clots, possible breast cancer. Those are the issues that you need to be considering. Now, if you are healthy and you are already on hormones, according to these guidelines, there is no need to make a change.

KAGAN: One thing that is the same is that it's not a black-and- white decision, you should consult the doctor.

ROWLAND: Consult your doctor. That is the key message.

KAGAN: The other story, other big health story out there, West Nile virus. A man in Florida, they believe, has come down with this. You get it by being bitten by an infected mosquito. A lot of people have mosquito bites out there, and these mosquitoes have been found up and down the East Coast. Is there cause for concern?

ROWLAND: No, there is not cause for concern, and that's the main message I want to get out here. Since West Nile was first detected in 1999 up in the New York-New Jersey area, researchers have found West Nile activities -- that is, infected mosquitoes -- all up and down the Eastern seaboard. But we have only had human cases known in New York, New Jersey and now in Florida.

This is a presumed case. That is, health officials say this particular individual, a man over the age of 50, fits the criteria. They still need the CDC to confirm this. Again, do not panic. As you can see, even though we have had this activity, we have only had human cases in three states.

KAGAN: And a lot more mosquito bites out there.

ROWLAND: So, what you need to do is protect yourself.

KAGAN: Put on the bug spray.

ROWLAND: That's right.

KAGAN: God, you know, people hate doing that. Bug spray, and you were telling me today, put on the long pants and long shirt if you go out at dawn or dusk and walk the dog.

ROWLAND: And dusk is the key time. Don't get out there and garden.

KAGAN: Or walk the dog, like I do. That's why my legs are a mess. OK, I'll try to take that advice. Rhonda, thank you so much.

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