Health Topic

Hormone Therapy for Menopause

Hormone therapy for menopause can relieve some menopause symptoms, but it isn't right for everyone. Talk to your provider about the risks and benefits.

Reviewed Reviewed by a registered pharmacistGeneral information

Also called: ERT · Estrogen replacement therapy · HRT · Hormone replacement therapy · MHT · Menopausal hormone therapy

Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.

About Hormone Therapy for Menopause

Menopause is the time in a woman's life when her menstrual periods stop. It is a normal part of aging. During menopause, the body makes much lower amounts of the hormones estrogen and progesterone.

Hormone therapy for menopause involves taking estrogen, with or without progesterone (or a similar hormone called progestin). The goal is to replace some of the hormones the body no longer makes and help relieve menopausal symptoms.

In the years leading up to menopause, and during menopause, hormone levels can rise and fall. These changes can cause symptoms for some women that may be mild and go away on their own. For others, symptoms may be more severe and affect daily life.

Lower hormone levels during menopause can cause symptoms such as:

  • Hot flashes
  • Night sweats
  • Mood changes
  • Vaginal dryness
  • Pain during sex

Hormone therapy may help relieve these symptoms. It may also help protect against osteoporosis.

Hormone therapy is not right for everyone. You should not use hormone therapy for menopause if you:

  • Are pregnant or think that you may be pregnant
  • Have unexplained vaginal bleeding
  • Have had certain types of cancer
  • Have had a stroke or heart attack
  • Have had blood clots
  • Have liver disease

Talk with your health care provider about your medical history before starting hormone therapy.

There are different types of hormone therapy for menopause. If you had surgery to remove your uterus (hysterectomy) your provider may recommend estrogen only therapy. If you still have your uterus, your provider may recommend estrogen plus progesterone (or progestin) therapy.

Hormone therapy for menopause comes in several forms. Most are pills taken by mouth, but there are also skin patches, gels or sprays, vaginal creams, tablets, or rings.

Your provider can help you choose the type and form that's best for you.

Hormone therapy has some risks. For some women, it may increase the risk of:

  • Blood clots
  • Heart attack
  • Stroke
  • Breast cancer
  • Gallbladder disease

The level of risk depends on the type of hormone therapy, how long it is used, and your medical history and lifestyle.

You and your provider should talk about the risks and benefits. If you decide to use hormone therapy, it is usually recommended to use the lowest dose that helps and for the shortest time needed. Ask your provider how often you should follow up. Many recommend checking in every three to six months at first, then once a year after treatment is working well.

Food and Drug Administration

It sits within Women, Endocrine System, Drug Therapy and Female Reproductive System.

The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the National Institute on Aging.

When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.

Research on Hormone Therapy for Menopause

55 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.

What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.

Research currently under way

Research already completed

Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.

Where to read more

Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.

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Treatments and Therapies

Related Issues

Clinical Trials

Medical subject headings

Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Menopause, Hormone Replacement Therapy. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.

This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Hormone Therapy for Menopause, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.