Hormone Therapy Timing: When to Start, When to Stop, and Is It Ever Too Late?
From Empowering Midlife Wellness with Dr. Susan by Dr. Susan Hardwick-Smith
June 12, 2026 · 19 min
About this episode
Dr. Susan discusses the timing of hormone therapy in relation to menopause and its implications for women's health.
Now that we understand much more about the potential health benefits of menopausal hormone therapy, I want to tackle one of the questions I hear most often: when should you start hormone therapy, when should you stop it, and is there ever a point when it's too late to begin? We know that starting estradiol close to menopause can help support healthy blood vessels and may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and other age-related conditions. But what if you weren't offered hormones when you first entered menopause and are now 10 or more years beyond it? In this video, I discuss what the research actually shows about starting estrogen later in life, who may benefit, who may not, and why some of the perceived risks have often been overstated or misunderstood. I'll also take a closer look at the Women's Health Initiative study that changed the course of hormone therapy conversations more than 20 years ago. We'll discuss what the study found, the limitations that were recognized over time, the lessons we learned from it, and why its conclusions do not apply equally to all women. I'll also discuss the ELITE trial and what it taught us about the timing of hormone therapy, including…
People in this episode
Host: Dr. Susan Hardwick-Smith
Topics covered
- hormone therapy
- menopause
- cardiovascular health
- estradiol
- Women's Health Initiative
- ELITE trial
Keywords
- hormone therapy
- menopause
- estradiol
- cardiovascular disease
- Women's Health Initiative
- ELITE trial
- vascular health
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Women's Health Initiative, ELITE trial
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