Estrogen plus progestin was not effective for long-term secondary prevention of coronary heart disease in postmenopausal women.

I n t e r v e n t i o n Women were allocated to conjugated estrogen, 0.625 mg/d, plus medroxyprogesterone acetate, 2.5 mg/d (n = 1380), or placebo (n = 1383) for 4.1 years. In the subsequent 2.7 years (during HERS II), 1156 women in the estrogen-plus-progestin group and 1165 women in the placebo group continued follow-up, and open-label hormone therapy was prescribed at the discretion of the women’s personal physicians.