31.   Previous studies found half of all women on estrogen quit taking the hormone within one year of starting it.

32.   She agrees that many women can reduce their risk of heart disease and osteoporosis without taking hormones.

33.   Should the hormones be taken?

34.   Should women take hormones after menopause?

35.   Since the treatment often eventually knocks out the hormone-producing tissue, sooner or later those with hyperactive thyroids will become hypothyroid and need to take replacement hormones.

36.   Since hormones are generally taken in extremely small doses, differences could produce major swings in patient response.

37.   Studies comparing heart attack rates in women taking hormone replacement therapy to those who did not found lower rates of heart disease in women taking the hormones.

38.   Taking hormones, primarily estrogen, is believed to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease but modestly increase the risk of breast cancer.

39.   The effects of taking hormones vary according to the individual and should be discussed with a doctor.

40.   The difficulty, though, is that women who take hormones tend to have a lower risk of heart disease anyway.